THE INTERFERENCE TRILOGY: Aftermath
by Briar Elwood
Summary: 3 years after Season 10 & Adria's still trying to convert the galaxy & kill Daniel at the same time. Meanwhile, the team is trying to find The City of the Undead & the supposed secret that's there. AU. DV, SJ, & a weird DanAdria thing. 1 of 3.
1. Prologue

It was a gorgeous city, really. Like nothing Daniel Jackson had ever seen before. If he squinted and tilted his head, he could imagine it being a cross between Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Medieval in a futuristic way. Large, almost sphere-like buildings made it up, with a lone, enormous mountain immediately behind it. But the city didn't stop there. Cylindrical formations jutted out of the hollow mountain, boasting proud interiors that Daniel couldn't _wait_ to explore. And what topped it off for the eager archeologist was the obvious fact it had long been deserted. With a practically giddy leap, Daniel walked into the mysterious city.

"Danny boy!"

_You've_got_to be kidding me._ Wondering how the hell Vala Mal Doran had ended up in Daniel's personal paradise, he turned to see the ex-thief bouncing towards him. She glanced around at the city encompassing them and flashed a blinding smile his direction.

"Perfect place, isn't?" she asked sincerely. "Bet you're glad I found it!"

Immediately Daniel assumed she was giving him sexual implications and began to say so. However, he never had the opportunity to find out for sure. A scream suddenly pierced the air and the beautiful, paradisiacal city was turned into a horrid hell. The sky turned from blue to a dark grey and seemed to fill with blood. Vala slumped to the dirt ground lifelessly and a hoard of memories bombarded Daniel. Tears stung his eyes and he sunk to his knees in misery.

"Vala…" he chocked, brushing her black locks out of her still warm face. "Oh, Vala…"

XxXxX

"Uu-uh!" Daniel jerked awake, breathing heavily. With the suddenness of his movement, he flailed, tangled in his sheets and fell with a thud to the floor. He bit back a curse and struggled to release himself from bondage. Finally he scrambled away from his bed, standing up.

"Holy crap," he said quietly. He shot a glance at his radio clock and groaned when he saw the neon read declaring it was 3:29 in the morning. He had gotten an hour and a half of sleep. Wondering why in the world he had woken up, Daniel shuffled back to his bed when a nerve-wracking scream filled his memory. He froze.

_Ah. That's why._

That was all he remembered of the dream, but it was enough. He was _not_ going back to bed. A couple cups of coffee and he should be able to get back on working on that translation….

Suppressing a yawn, Daniel threw on some clothes, downed coffee cup number one and walked out to his truck.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	2. 1: Iarad

"Danny!" Vala bounced into Daniel's office and skidded to a stop. The linguist was sitting at his large table, his translation junk strewn in front of him. However, he wasn't working. His head was resting limply in his hand, his elbow propping him up. In his other hand were his glasses. To almost anyone else, it would've seemed like Daniel was thinking hard, but Vala could tell he wasn't. She grinned to herself and skipped softly in front of him. She slid her head below his, watching his eyes dart wildly under his eyelids.

"Oh Danny-boy…" she said in a singsong voice. He continued to sleep. Vala sighed.

"Daniel!"

His eyes flew open and, seeing Vala so close to his face as a welcome, yelled, flying backwards. The chair toppled over and he slid to the floor. With an angry bellow, Daniel hit the back of his head on the hard floor. For a moment he lay there, his eyes scrunched shut as he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.

"Vala," he said in a strangely mellow voice. "Might I suggest something?"

Vala frowned. "Sure."

His eyes snapped open and he glared at her figure looming above him. "_Don't_ bug me today."

Vala pouted. "Why not?"

Daniel growled as he moved to stand up. "To put it simply, I'm already having a bad day."

Vala glanced at the clock. "It's only eight!"

"I know. I've been here since four," Daniel replied, picking the chair back up and slumping down into it.

"Why?" Vala asked incredulously. "There aren't any pressing translations for you right now…"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Why not?"

Daniel glanced up at her, pushing his glassed back on. "Nightmare," he said quietly. Now Vala was thoroughly intrigued.

"About?"

"I don't remember," Daniel mumbled, looking back down to his work.

"Oh, come on, Daniel…" Vala pleaded, scooting closer to Daniel's side. He sighed, closing his eyes as he tried to remember.

"All I can recall is someone screaming…a woman."

"Who?" Vala asked breathlessly. "Colonel Carter? Or…her?"

Daniel raised his head and saw Vala was pointing towards his desk. His eyes drifted that direction and rested on Sha're's picture.

"I don't know. Though…" he paused, thinking. "I think…I think that it might've been you."

"Me?" Vala asked, slightly surprised. "Why was I screaming?"

"I don't know Vala!" Daniel burst, slamming a hand on the table. "And I don't know for sure if it _was_ you! For all I know it could've been Adria and then I don't give a damn!"

"You don't mean that," Vala said, quietly defensive of her daughter. Daniel stared hard into Vala's eyes.

"Yes, actually. I do."

There was a pause of silence as the two stared into each other's eyes. Finally, as if she had seen something she hadn't wanted to, Vala looked away.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Coffee," Daniel replied automatically, turning back to the tablet.

"Too much caffeine—"

"Vala!" Daniel yelled angrily.

"All right, all right, I'm going…"

XxXxX

"That's wrong."

Daniel looked over to Vala. "What?"

Vala pointed at Daniel's scribbled translations. "It's not 'dead' right here. It's more of…'_un_dead'. Like ghosts or zombies."

"How do _you_ know?" Daniel asked, confused.

"First, check if I'm right," Vala ordered. Daniel looked at where she was indicating, and then to the original tablet, then back again. After a moment, he leaned back.

"Again I ask: how did you know?"

"You can't expect me to hang around you so much and not pick up anything," Vala explained. Daniel eyed her, a smile growing on his lips.

"I shouldn't be surprised, I guess. Jack's corrected me before…once."

"What's the whole thing say?" Vala asked curiously. "I can't read the rest of your writing."

"It's really short, actually," Daniel said, picking up the paper with notes. "It says: '_The City of the Undead is where the secret lies.'_ Loosely translated, of course."

"That's it?" Vala asked.

"Well, there's this one little part I can't figure out, but that's the essentials," Daniel replied, frowning, frustrated, at the tablet.

"What secret?" Vala asked, scooting closer to peer over Daniel's shoulder.

"I don't know, Vala," Daniel answered exasperatedly.

"Boy. You don't know a lot this morning, do you?" Vala said, frowning at him. Daniel snapped his head to glare at her. She threw her hands up defensively.

"Joke!"

He relaxed, turning back to continue frowning at the tablet. Vala leaned forward.

"Where'd you get the tablet?"

Daniel shoulders slumped. Would she _ever_ stop asking questions?

"A friend left it and bunch of other artifacts for me when she died," he replied, gritting his teeth.

"Do you think it's something important? Something we should look in to? I hope so, Daniel, I'm so bored. We haven't gone anywhere in so long and you've been sitting here forever, working on one thing or another. You think we should find this 'City of the Undead' and find this secret?" Vala asked excitedly. Daniel had the sudden urge to bang his head repeatedly on the desk until he knocked himself unconscious.

"I don't know, Vala," he said wearily.

"Maybe…"

"Wait," Daniel suddenly interrupted, straightening and alert. Vala froze.

"What?" she whispered timidly.

"Iarad," Daniel hissed.

"Guesindheit," Vala said promptly. Daniel shot a stare at her.

"How do you…? Never mind." He shook his head. "No, Iarad is what the part I had trouble with says. It's almost like a side note."

"What does it mean?"

Daniel shrugged. "It could be the city's name. Or something to do with the secret. Or the planet the city's located."

"Or the name of the guy who wrote it!" Vala suggested. Daniel shook his head.

"No, it's not a signature, it's a side note. Like a post-script. It's not the name of the person who wrote it." He frowned, scribbling the word down. Thoughtfully, he bit on the end of his pencil, his eyes widening. "And if you scramble the letters around…" Suddenly he slammed his pencil down, stood up, and started gathering all of his notes and the tablet. "This might actually be worth looking into."

"What?" Vala asked, confused. "Why?"

Daniel didn't reply, but walked briskly out of the room. "Come on."

"Daniel!" She received no answer. "All right, I'm coming!"

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	3. 2: Tension

_"'The City of the Undead is where the secret lies.'_ Then, almost like a side not, _'Iarad.'_ Which, if you mix the letters around…" Daniel paused, taking in the team's expressions. Teal'c, like always, showed no hint of his thoughts, whilst Vala was enraptured in Daniel's every word. General Landry seemed to be impatient, as if not seeing the point. Cameron and Sam just seemed confused.

"Go on," Cam prodded. Daniel nodded.

"If you mix the letters around, but chance or on purpose, they spell 'Adria'." He wrote the name on the white board.

"What?" Vala exclaimed, eyes as wide as saucers.

"I-a-r-a-d. A-d-r-i-a. Complete chance, maybe, but it's enough to get my conscious edgy," Daniel told them, clicking the marker's lid back on.

"How the hell did you come up with this?" Landry asked. Daniel shrugged.

"No clue. Just popped into my head."

"Maybe Adria sent it to you, like when she sent that dream to Vala when we were looking for the sangraal," Sam suggested. Cam shook his head.

"I thought she could only do that because Vala's her mother," he argued.

"Maybe she can do it for anyone she has—er, _had_ a close relationship with," Daniel offered, his cheeks coloring slightly. The general feeling of the room grew awkward and uncomfortable as Cam opened his mouth tentatively as if to continue the subject. Quickly, Daniel shook his head.

"Let's not get into that." The team seemed to agree readily enough. "Besides, that's not the point. General, if we…"

Landry nodded. "You have a go, Dr. Jackson. I want you to look through our database and see if there's any mention to Iarad. Teal'c, contact Bra'tac, see if he knows anything. Sam, I want you to research the undead, just to be safe. Vala, if you any contacts that might be helpful, take Cam with you. I trust you, just not the people you might know."

Vala nodded. "I know that, General."

Landry nodded. "Dismissed." He stood and walked back into his office, leaving the others standing awkwardly. After Teal'c, Sam, and Cameron left the room, Vala turned to Daniel who was erasing the white board.

"When are you going to 'get into that', as you put it?" she asked, almost angrily. Daniel froze for a second before calmly finishing cleaning the board and setting the eraser down. He turned slowly, taking a deep breath.

"Not yet," he replied, an icy edge in his tone. Vala frowned.

"But when?" she pressed. Daniel sighed.

"When enough time has passed that I feel comfortable putting the events into words, Vala."

Vala let her shoulders fall, frustrated. "That whole thing is covered in mystery!" she cried. "I _still_, after three years, don't understand why you supposedly turned to the Ori!"

"I told you _all_ why!" Daniel defended. "Adria threatened Earth! And then, when that didn't quite work, she threatened you and the others! I was _not_ going to let her hurt you, no matter what the personal cost was."

"She's my daughter!" Vala argued. "Why would she threaten me?"

_Because she's smart,_ Daniel almost said. But instead he stayed quiet, walking over to the table to pick up his folder.

"Daniel?" Vala asked, softer. Daniel shook his head.

"Trust me, Vala. Just because you're her mother doesn't mean you know her better than I do." With that, Daniel walked past Vala towards the stairs.

"What does _that_ mean?" Vala exclaimed, jumping back into her angry mode. Daniel clenched his fists around the folder, the edges of it scrunching up.

"Leave it alone, Vala. Trying to pry it out of me will only make me not want to tell you…ever."

Vala stared blankly at Daniel's back. "Daniel…"

He stayed where he was for one brief second. Then, suddenly, he walked away, down the stairs. Vala stared at air, utterly baffled.

Daniel _really_ hadn't gotten enough sleep, she decided.

XxXxX

"So…any word from Teal'c?" Vala asked, sauntering into Daniel's office. Daniel looked up from his computer and smiled.

"Good morning," he greeted. Vala eyed him.

"Really? No nightmares last night?" she asked. Daniel frowned disapprovingly but shook his head.

"No. And, no, there's been no word from Teal'c yet, but I'm not too worried. He just left twelve hours ago. He's still got to find Bra'tac first."

Vala nodded. "Daniel—"

At the same time she started talking, Daniel looked up as if having just made a decision. "Vala—"

They both stopped, sheepishly smiling at each other. Vala indicated him. "You first."

Daniel nodded and took a slight breath, preparing himself. "Yesterday…well. I'm sorry. I was really acting like a jerk. It was…completely uncalled for. And I'm sorry."

Vala smiled. "It's okay. I wasn't on the best behavior either."

"When are you ever?" Daniel asked jestingly. Vala stuck her tongue out at him before continuing.

"In fact, that's what I was going to say. I'm sorry. I guess we were both outta control."

Daniel smiled. "So…we're good?"

Vala nodded. "We're good."

"Unauthorized off world activation. Unauthorized off world activation."

Daniel glanced up at the speaker. "That could be Teal'c. Let's go." He stood up and walked over to Vala's side. They stood there for a second, like they were savoring the moment before Vala jumped forward and gave Daniel a large hug. Daniel stumbled back slightly from the momentum, but smiled and returned the embrace.

"Let's go."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	4. 3: Goading & Death

"Hey, Bra'tac," Cameron greeted as the old Jaffa and Teal'c walked through the 'gate. Bra'tac smiled warmly at Cameron.

"Greetings, Colonel Mitchell. It is good to see you again."

"You too," Cameron returned.

"Bra'tac!" Sam called happily. "How are you?"

"I am well, Colonel Carter. Though disturbed by the news Teal'c has brought me," Bra'tac amended. Cam's warm and friendly appearance disappeared and he frowned.

"So you've heard of Iarad?"

Bra'tac nodded. "Indeed."

General Landry spoke through the com. "Then come up to the briefing room where we can all hear what you know."

XxXxX

"So, where'd you hear of Iarad? What is it?" Vala asked once everyone sat down.

"I heard a rumor, that is all," Bra'tac started. "Truthfully, I could be thinking of something else. But there is a rumor that Adria is building a city, I believe by the name of Iarad."

"What purpose would that serve?" Sam asked.

Bra'tac shook his head. "I do not know."

"How could an ancient tablet be talking about a city that's being built _now_?" Cam queried.

"We've run into stranger things," Landry pointed out. "Time travel's always a possibility."

"Or it could be something completely different," Vala said.

"We should still check it out, I think," Sam put in. "Do you know _where_ this city's supposed to be?" she asked Bra'tac. Bra'tac shook his head.

"I am afraid I do not. It was over a month ago that I even heard of it."

"And you didn't do anything?" Landry questioned.

"As I said, it was merely a rumor. It didn't make it to the Council. In fact, I wouldn't have thought anything of it had Teal'c not come to me," Bra'tac explained. There was a pause of grim silence before General Landry let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, thanks for your help, Bra'tac. It's always appreciated."

As everyone stood to say his or her farewells, Vala watched Daniel's expression. There was a slight frown on his lips and his eyes seemed to be staring at something faraway…Vala could only guess how frustrated he was. He snapped out of his trance quick enough, though, when Bra'tac approached him. They clasped each other's arms, smiling warmly.

"It's always great to see you, Bra'tac," Daniel told the old Jaffa. Bra'tac smiled back.

"You as well," he returned. They let go of each other and suddenly there was a flash of white light where Daniel was standing and the linguist was gone. Bra'tac blinked blankly at the air before Cameron let out a loud groan.

"I really hope that wasn't the Ori."

XxXxX

"What the-?" Daniel looked around at his surroundings, which were automatically recognizable as an Ori warship.

"Daniel. What a pleasure," an all-too familiar voice purred. His back stiffening, Daniel turned to glare at Adria.

"What do you want?"

She nodded. "No small talk, just straight to the point. That's one of the things I like about you, Daniel. You're amusing when you're annoyed."

Daniel simply waited for her to continue.

"You are looking for Iarad,' Adria stated bluntly."I can take you there."

"And why would you do that?" Daniel asked rigidly. "Surely not out of the kindness of your heart."

Adria gave him her discomforting smile as she explained. "I am searching for the City of the Undead as well."

"And where did _you_ hear of it?"

Adria simply smiled softly. Daniel sighed, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.

"Why would I help you?'

Adria rolled her eyes. "How many times must we go through this, Daniel? You'll help me because you don't want me to hurt your friends. You know I will not hesitate now. I have proven that to you."

The memory of the event Adria was speaking of flooded Daniel's mind and his hands involuntarily clenched into fists.

"In fact," Adria goaded, "if it weren't for his little sacrifice, I never would've gotten this beaming technology. Those creatures, the Asgard, were no problem to deal with except possibly that one…Thor. Your friend however… He was quite a stubborn character, wasn't he?"

Daniel smiled weakly as he fought back the rage building inside of him. "Yes. He was."

"Shall I show you how it happened?"

"No!"

But it was too late.

XxXxX

"Stand aside," Adria ordered. Brigadier General Jack O'Neill glanced at the now lifeless body of his old-time friend, Thor, and shook his head angrily. He took a moment to bite back a few words he hadn't used in years, a result of meeting Samantha Carter, before replying.

"I'm not letting you get to the technology," he snarled. "I'm not that stupid."

Adria sighed. "I never thought of you as the suicidal type, General."

"There's a price for everything," Jack retorted.

"A fairly large one, in this case," Adria commented. "All of Earth is in debt to you; you'll be missed greatly by even them! And you'll be leaving so many friends behind." She paused, as if trying to recall a bit of information. Daniel, watching the spectacle from his safety in the future, could tell it was merely for effect.

"And what about Colonel Carter?" Adria suddenly asked, with a note of false sympathy. "Your wife? Imagine _her_ grief? And…the baby's?"

Jack's eyes flew wide in shock.

_"You bastard!" Daniel burst through his tears. "They couldn't have children! They had work! And, besides, Sam—"_

_"I know that," Adria interrupted calmly. "You know that._He_knew that. But the possibility of 'what-if' hit him at that critical moment, as I knew it would."_

"But Sam—" Jack argued weakly, brokenly.

"How can you leave Colonel Carter to raise the child all on her own, General O'Neill?" Adria asked sadly.

Jack's mind whirled dangerously for a moment but after Thor's body caught his eye again, he shook his head. "No. Better for my child to have one parent than to be brought up in a world overrun by the Ori."

Adria sighed, realizing he wasn't going to give in. She shrugged. "Suit yourself."

_"No!"_

Jack's head snapped back, his mouth opening in a blood-curdling scream. His body folded in obvious torrents of pain as he crumpled to the dirtied floor. For a few long moments, Jack tossed and turned, screaming pathetically. Daniel struggled to look away, to close his eyes, but the image Adria was projecting was everywhere and the archeologist was forced to watch his best friend die, great heaving sobs racking his body. Finally Jack was suddenly still and in Daniel's mind was a close-up of his lifeless face.

His eyes were still wide with horror and pain, his mouth ajar ever so slightly. His glazed eyes seemed to be pleading with Daniel, begging him to stop the pain. It was such an undignified way for Jack to die, Daniel thought. A man like him should've left this plane of existence in a more respectable, more honorable, more dignified manner. But unfair is life. And death.

XxXxX

"I hate you," Daniel wept softly, sinking to his knees in grief.

"Surely you have moved on by now, Daniel?" Adria pushed. "It was over a month ago that he died."

Daniel shook his head angrily."You bitch."

"Imagine, Daniel," Adria said with a sudden ferocity, "imagine Teal'c in that position."

An image of Teal'c, head snapping back and an uncharacteristic scream emitting from his lips, filled Daniel's mind's eye.

"Or Colonel Mitchell."

Cameron sank to the floor, waves of pain rocking his body.

"Or Colonel Carter."

Sam's body was racked by convulsions, her heart-wrenching screams filling Daniel's ears.

"Or…my mother, Vala Mal Doran."

Vala's form froze, her terror-filled face causing yet another set of heaving sobs to burn through Daniel.

"All right," he whispered, chocking through his tears. "I'll do it. I'll help you find the City of the Undead. Just don't hurt them…"

Adria smiled, drawing out of the linguist's mind.

"You are weak, Daniel. You always have been and you always will be. General O'Neill was weak that is why he is dead. My mother is weak; Colonel Carter is weak, as well as Colonel Mitchell. The only one of your pathetic friends who has any _ounce_ of strength would be that _ox_ of a Jaffa, Teal'c, who's so reserved it won't do you any good. Your planet will fall, Dr. Jackson, and ultimately the entire galaxy after it. Your efforts are useless. Your weaknesses will be your downfall. Your sympathy, your empathy, your _compassion_," Adria spat the word as a curse, "will destroy you."

Daniel was too sorrow-stricken to argue. And, to his currently damaged and fragile state, it seemed she were right.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	5. 4: Henwies

A few hours later, the ship landed. Adria led Daniel to the now-open ramp. The archeologist looked out and saw a city in construction, a good amount of citizens bustling about. It was a strange sight, some buildings looking like they would fit in at Chicago or New York City, some looking like humble homes from Camelot or Vagonbrei. Adria waved an arm its direction proudly.

"Iarad," she announced, smiling at Daniel's stoic figure. "Now, Daniel. This is what you will do. You will go to the Stargate. You will go home and you will tell the rest of SG-1 you have found Iarad. Then you and your team will return here and find the City of the Undead. Is that understood?"

"And where will _you_ be?" Daniel asked.

"Watching."

He knew that was the only answer he would get. Daniel turned away and started to leave the ship, but stopped when Adria called his name again.

"Oh, and Daniel."

He turned to see Adria giving him a truly wicked smile.

"After you find that city, I'd watch your back. My purposes for you will be fulfilled."

It felt like a stone dropped into his stomach as Daniel realized what she was saying. Suddenly he was flying backwards, towards a large oak tree. His head snapped back and hit the tree dead on. With a loud groan, he crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"After that little stunt of yours three years ago, there's no way I'll let you live."

In pain and head swimming, Daniel stayed where he was, until a few moments after hearing the Ori ship leave. Then with a slight moan, he hoisted himself up and stumbled to the 'gate. Fighting the ever-growing gray haze in his vision, he dialed home and traveled over the event horizon.

XxXxX

"Who is it, Walter?" Landry asked, coming into the control room.

"Receiving Dr. Jackson's IDC, sir," Walter replied.

"Well, then open the iris," the general ordered. Walter did so and a very disoriented Daniel stumbled through the wormhole.

"Daniel!" Landry greeted. "Good to have you—"

Suddenly the archeologist fell forward and rolled down the ramp, coming to a stop at one of the guards' feet. The man knelt down, checked on Daniel and looked up to Landry.

"He's blacked out sir!"

Landry sighed and ran to the speaker. "Carolyn, we need a med team in the 'gate room immediately."

XxXxX

"Ow. Oh jeez. My head."

"Has a pretty large dent in it, Jackson. Care to explain?"

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Uh…" Daniel sat up slowly and squinted at the team. "Well. I found Iarad."

"And?" Cam prodded.

"How?" Sam asked.

"Where?" Vala added.

"Who? What? When? Why?" Landry continued irritably. "Give the man a chance to answer!"

Daniel shot Landry a grateful smile before replying. "It's not the City of the Undead. It's not even finished, though there _are_ people living there. But I think that, somehow, Iarad's supposed to lead us to the City of the Undead and ultimately the secret. We should leave as soon as possible."

"How'd you find it, Dr. Jackson?" Landry asked, frowning. "And what's with your head injury?"

Daniel winced. "Um. I tripped. As to how I found it…" Quickly, he tried to think of a lie. "The Asgard, um, showed me."

"There are still strong Asgard out there?' Vala asked, surprised. Daniel bit his tongue.

"Um. Just this one small ship. There aren't that many of 'em."

Everyone frowned at him. Daniel bit his tongue harder. They knew he was bluffing. Hopefully they'd leave him alone about it, like they did with the Prior/Adria incident.

"All right," Landry sighed. "When Carolyn clears you, suit up, all of you."

"Yes sir."

XxXxX

"Yeah. This definitely isn't the City of the Undead," Sam commented, staring at the bustling city before them.

"It's wacky lookin'!" Cam exclaimed. "Like a cross between Chicago or NYC and—"

"Camelot or Vagonbrei, I know," Daniel interrupted.

"Right," Cam said, jumping into leader-mode. "Let's split up. Teal'c, you're with me."

"Vala," Daniel hissed, jerking his head. She nodded and bounced to his side. Once they were out of earshot of the others, she started her interrogation.

"So what really happened? There aren't any strong Asgard, are there? It was Adria, wasn't it?"

He ignored her and started to walk into the city.

"Daniel!" she whined. "You didn't trip either did you? You're not that clumsy!"

"Jack would've argued with that," he mumbled.

"Well maybe you used to be, but you're not anymore! You're an elegant hunk of hotness!" Vala exclaimed. Daniel was thrown into a sudden coughing fit. "Oh, come on, Daniel! You should hear all the girls at the base!"

He raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a sideways glance. Vala grinned.

"You're not that blind, are you?"

He shook his head hurriedly. "We're getting off topic."

"Really? I wasn't aware we had a topic originally! Other than the fact you're a big fat liar," Vala commented.

"And you're not?"

"I don't count!"

"Oh? Really?"

Vala was about to reply but a short, bulky man with a large smile waddled up to them.

"Greetings! Are you new to Iarad? I've never seen you around before and the city's still so small…. What're your names?"

"Yes, we're new," Daniel said quickly before Vala could speak. "I'm…Bob. And this is Sally."

Vala eyed him strangely. "Original," she hissed under her breath. Daniel shot her a glare.

"Unusual names," the man commented. "Oh well. Every planet's different, isn't it? I'm Henwies. Are you two married? Do you have a place yet? Do you need a place to stay until you're settled? Because I happen to be the only innkeeper in the city, so far of course, and would be happy to give you a room, plus meals, free!"

"Yes, we're married," Vala said quickly, knowing Daniel would go with the opposite choice. "Newly weds."

"Oh, how wonderful! Congratulations! May the Ori smile upon your marriage!"

Daniel coughed slightly before speaking. "Um. A room would be great. Thank you," he said, glaring at Vala from the corner of his eye. She simply grinned at him.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Henwies exclaimed. "Follow me, follow me."

XxXxX

As Vala settled herself into the large bed in their room, Daniel contacted the rest of the team. He suggested they see if they could get a couple of free rooms themselves, Sam and Cam posing as a married couple, like Daniel and Vala, and Teal'c coming in late, single. They agreed, though Sam was a bit hesitant about pretending to be Cam's wife, and Daniel sat down on the bed, trying to remember why the name "Henwies" sounded familiar.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	6. 5: Joe, Jane, George

"Hey," Cam greeted as he walked up to Sam. She raised her head and gave him a slight nod. He winced. "Look, I know you're not exactly comfortable—"

"Its okay, Cam," she assured him. He watched her silently for a moment before nodding.

"All right then. Teal'c, you stay here and I'll radio when we're ready for you. Sam, let's go."

XxXxX

The friends reached the inn and Cameron hurried to the door to hold it open for Sam. She nodded her thanks and was immediately greeted by a short, bulky man.

"Hello, hello, hello! I take it you two are new people too! Do you know Bob and Sally? What're your names? Do you need a place to stay? Are you married? I can give you a free room, plus meals, just like Bob and Sally! You are from the same planet as them, I can tell by your clothes! This is so exciting, how the Ori are spreading the truth among the galaxy! Oh, I'm so sorry; I haven't really given you the chance to answer yet, have I? I'm Henwies," the man said in a bustle, jutting a hand out. Cam took it and received quite a strong handshake, leaving him massaging his hand painfully afterwards.

"Um. Yeah, Bob and Sally recommended this place," he answered, guessing "Bob and Sally" were Daniel and Vala. "I'm…Joe. And she's…Jane. And, no, we're not married. She's my sister-in-law. Her husband, my brother, died about a month ago and I've been taking care of her since then."

Sam looked up suddenly and gave Cam a grateful smile. He grinned back. Henwies frowned sadly.

"Oh! I am so sorry. May he reign with the Ori in peace," he said solemnly. Cameron and Sam tried their best not to smile at the irony in that statement.

"So…two rooms?" Sam asked quietly after a pause. Henwies nodded, looking business-like.

"Follow me."

XxXxX

"Right, T, we're ready for you," Cam said into his radio.

"Henwies is a character, isn't he?" Daniel's voice commented.

"I like him!" Sam and Vala chorused.

"I wasn't saying that he's not likable," Daniel defended.

"No, I know what you mean," Cam replied. "He's one of a kind. Oh, and Teal'c?"

"Yes, Colonel Mitchell?" Teal'c's low voice answered.

"You're gonna wanna come up with a 'not-too-original' name for yourself," the colonel warned.

"Would George do?" the Jaffa made sure. Cam grinned.

"Yeah. That'd work. Jackson? Shall we meet downstairs?"

"Sure. See you in a few."

XxXxX

"So…Bob," Cam greeted, Sam behind him, as they walked up to the corner table that Daniel and Vala were already seated at. Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Oh, come on. I was taken off guard."

"Why couldn't you just give him your real name?" Cam said in a lower tone, sitting down across from them. Daniel winced involuntarily.

"Uh…cuz?"

Sam shook her head, signaling they should change the topic. "So I take it you two are posing as a married couple?"

Daniel shot a glare at Vala, who grinned. "Yes," she replied. "We are."

"Cam managed to dodge that, luckily," Sam said, giving the colonel a proud look. Daniel looked appalled.

"What?" he exclaimed. "That's not fair! How'd you do that?"

"Sam, or Jane, I should say, I'm Joe, by the way, is the wife of my brother who died about a month ago," Cam answered, smiling at him. Daniel thought it over for a moment.

"Well. It is pretty close to the truth. Though Jack's your dad, not your brother."

Cam glared at him. "Will you cut that out?"

Daniel grinned at him. "I think you deserve it. If I have to share a room, with only one bed, might I add, with Vala, I think I have the right to play with you a little."

"I'm so excited!" Vala whispered gleefully. Daniel raised an eyebrow at her.

"Another new person! I'm overjoyed! Bob and Sally and Joe and Jane are over in that corner, you're a friend of theirs I assume? What's your name? Would you like a room, plus meals, for free until you're settled in?" Henwies suddenly burst. The team turned to see that Teal'c had just walked into the inn.

"Indeed, I would like a room. And, indeed I am a friend of theirs. My name is George. Yours is Henwies, correct?" Teal'c answered. Henwies nodded ecstatically.

"Would you like me to show you your room first or would you like to say hello to your friends?"

"I believe I will go greet my friends," Teal'c replied and walked past the short man to the rest of the team.

"Zup T?" Cam greeted as the big man sat down beside Sam. Teal'c frowned.

"In the literal sense or the slang sense, Colonel Mitchell?"

Cam sighed. "Slang sense, preferably."

"I believe the common reply, then, would be: 'Na much'."

Cam raised an eyebrow. "That's impressive."

"Henwies's name…" Daniel interrupted musingly. "It's German, I think. Loosely. But…I can't remember…German wasn't one of my big languages."

"Clue," Sam supplied. Daniel looked up at her in surprise. "What?" she asked defensively. "I took German in college! Mainly because no one else was taking it but hey!" She shrugged.

"So Henwies is supposed to help us find the City of the Undead?" Vala asked. Daniel shook his head.

"It could be complete chance," he pointed out.

"Oh!" Henwies suddenly cried from the other side of the room. Quickly he waddled over to them. "Services are every five days, which is a week on this planet, from dawn until noon, about six to seven hours. Just for your information. The next one is tomorrow." Then he bustled away. Vala and Daniel groaned. Cam glanced at them oddly.

"What?" he asked. "It can't be that bad!"

"Tell me something, Cam," Vala said. "Have you ever spent six to seven hours on your knees on hard ground, with a," she lowered her voice suddenly, "stupid Book of Origin in your hands, listening to some stupid Prior or priest go on and on about how great the Ori are and such?"

"Um…no."

"Then you have no right—"

"Okay, Vala," Daniel interrupted quickly, noting her level of volume was getting louder and people were starting to stare. "I believe it's getting late and we should order some dinner from Henwies. How's that sound?"

"Sounds wonderful!" Sam agreed, knowing why Daniel had changed the subject. And Henwies was all too happy to oblige.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	7. 6: The City of the Undead

After quite the scrumptious dinner, the team departed to their rooms to get some rest. Daniel went a little grudgingly, planning to steal a pillow and one of the sheets and try to make himself comfortable on the floor. Vala, on the other hand, had a different idea.

"You're _not_ sleeping on the floor," she told him as soon as he closed the door behind them. He turned and gave her a very despairing look.

"Vala…"

She shook her head stubbornly. "I don't expect to have sex but no one's sleeping on the floor. It's fall out there, Daniel. It's too cold _not_ to sleep in a bed."

"I'm glad you're looking out for me," he muttered. "Promise you won't try anything?"

Vala grinned. "If _you_ promise," she replied unconvincingly. Daniel rolled his eyes, only succeeding in making Vala's grin widen.

XxXxX

Daniel couldn't sleep. Images of the team and Jack dying swirled around in his mind's eye and horrid three-year-old memories haunted him. It didn't help that he knew that Adria was somewhere watching them. And that Vala was peacefully slumbering by his side. With an annoyed sigh, Daniel turned from one side to the other and watched Vala's lips curve into a frown, her brow creasing. He wondered what in her dreams was causing her to seem worried or sad. She mumbled something and her eyes fluttered uneasily, opening to be greeted by Daniel's concerned face.

"'M cold," she muttered. Daniel frowned at her, thinking she was just trying to get him closer to her, but saw she really was shivering and her lips were a slight ting of blue. He scooted a bit closer, thinking Cam was going to have a field day if he ever heard about this. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body closer to his.

"Body heat," he explained. Vala tilted her head slightly to look into his eyes and grinned softly.

"From an elegant hunk of hotness? I'll be burning up soon!" she teased quietly. Daniel resisted the urge to stick his tongue out at her.

But, for some reason or another, after that Daniel had no trouble falling asleep.

XxXxX

Unwillingly, Daniel emerged from his slumber. Suddenly he realized his arms were strangely empty. He sat up and looked around, Vala nowhere to be seen. Quickly, he looked outside. It was about an hour to dawn. Then where could she be? He threw off the covers and hurried to the bathroom to see if Vala was in there. She wasn't. Panic rising up inside of him, Daniel ran to Sam's room and barged in. Immediately a very damp Sam, having just gotten out of the shower, only a towel covering her, greeted his eyes.

"Oh! Uh…sorry…" He shut the door slightly, ignoring Sam's laughter.

"What's wrong, Daniel?" she asked, amused.

"Do you know where Vala is?" he asked.

"No, I don't," Sam replied. "Have you lost her?"

"I haven't lost her," Daniel grumbled, shutting the door and hurrying to Cam's room. This time, he knocked before barging in.

"Yup," Cam called. Daniel opened the door slowly.

"Hey, uh, Cam? You seen Vala this morning?"

Cameron laughed. "No. Lost her, have you?"

"I haven't lost her!"

Teal'c hadn't seen her either. Henwies suggested that she had gone to services a bit early and Daniel had tried hard not to laugh. So, with worry etched across his face, he decided he'd take a shower, go to services, and hope she turned up somewhere along the way.

XxXxX

Cameron caught Daniel's eye and grimaced, mouthing the word "blah" several times. Daniel shook his head. Vala hadn't turned up yet and Daniel was getting worse than worried. By now he was scared. There was a rustle in the crowd and the Prior, Iarad had its own personal _permanent_ Prior, stopped his speech to see what the fuss was about. The team raised their heads to see a very familiar woman, having just arrived, standing awkwardly at the edge of the crowd.

"Explain yourself," the Prior demanded lowly. Vala swallowed.

"Um. I'm sorry, sir. I was…not feeling well enough earlier. I decided it would be better if I did not show until now, when I felt better, so as not to disturb services," she lied easily. The Prior looked thoughtfully at her before nodding slowly.

"You may kneel down," he said. Vala grinned.

"Thank you."

"Do not let it happen again."

Vala shook her head fervently. "No, no. Of course not." Quickly, she treaded over the people between her and the rest of the team and knelt down by Daniel. The Prior waited for her to get settled and started back on his speech.

"So where have you really been?" Daniel hissed. Vala grinned at him.

"Looking for the City of the Undead. And I found a library."

XxXxX

"Right, _that_ was a complete waste of time," Cam declared as they walked out of the so-called library Vala had found.

"At least I tried!" Vala defended.

"An entire _bookstore_ dedicated to all things praising the Ori!" Cam continued. "I didn't know a single room could hold that many copies of the Book of Origin!"

"Cam, give her a break," Sam said quietly. "At least she was doing something productive rather than sitting around listening to the Prior rant about how great the Ori are."

"Henwies, what's for dinner?" Daniel asked as they walked into the inn. Henwies beamed and set out immediately to begin cooking.

"I've got a rare meal ready from my home planet that you'll love!" Henwies declared as he hurried into the kitchen. Daniel grinned at him and moved to sit down.

As Henwies waited on their every need, the friends talked of their problem.

"This planet _must_ have a history or something like that that we could look into," Daniel pointed out.

"That's Jackson for you," Cam commented through a mouthful of meat. "Always interested in a planet's history."

"No, seriously, Cam," Daniel argued. "The tablet is ancient; it's _got_ to have to do with something historic."

"Except for the fact it mentioned this city and this city's brand spankin' new," Cam replied. Daniel ignored him.

"And even if we are on the wrong track, it's still got to have an amazing history," Daniel mused.

"Oh, are you a historian?" Henwies asked, handing Vala a refill.

"Archeologist," Daniel corrected. "And linguist."

"Fascinating! What about the rest of you? I take it you're more than just friends; you're a team of some sort."

"Yes, actually," Vala replied eagerly. "We're explorers."

"How exciting!" Henwies said gleefully. "What're your roles?"

"Scientist," Sam answered.

"Warrior," Teal'c replied.

"Uh…leader," Cam said uneasily.

"Comic relief!" Vala exclaimed happily. Henwies laughed as Daniel gave her a sideways glance.

"So you're looking into the history of this planet?" Henwies inquired conversationally.

"Yes, we are," Daniel said, turning back to the innkeeper and leaning forward.

"Well, I don't know much, but I know there's a city, abandoned and ancient, not too far from here," Henwies told them.

"Really?" Sam said, looking interested. "What, exactly, do you know about this city?"

Henwies shrugged. "I think I heard it was supposed to be haunted but I know it's supposed to be a gorgeous city. I wouldn't know, though. I've never been there myself. Now much of a traveling man, myself."

Daniel's eyes were sparkling with excitement as he gave Sam and Cameron a huge smile. "I think we'll look into it," he told Henwies.

"Wonderful!" Henwies declared. "Good luck." And he bustled away.

"Haunted? Sounds pretty 'undead' to me," Sam commented.

"We'll do some research first," Cameron said. "If this _is_ the City of the Undead, we want to be prepared…"

Daniel nodded. "Of course."

Sam leaned back, a satisfied smile on her lips. "Looks like we're finally getting somewhere."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	8. 7: Dreams

A little while later the team realized it was getting late and decided to continue their plans in the morning. As they made their way up the stairs, Sam called out to the innkeeper.

"Thanks for the food, Henwies!"

"Yeah, compliments to the cook!" Cam added, knowing Henwies himself was the cook.

"You all going to bed?" the stocky man asked, wiping his hands on a large white apron.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied.

"Good night!" Daniel called.

"Sleep tight!" Henwies yelled back.

"Don't let the bed bugs bite!" Vala added. Henwies laughed.

"That's a good one! 'Don't let the bed bugs bite.' I'll keep that in mind…"

"You know, he reminds me of Sal," Vala commented as she and Daniel turned the corner to their room.

"The guy you worked for when-?"

"When I lost my memory, yeah," she confirmed.

"Is that why you like him so much?" Daniel asked. Vala shrugged.

"Part of it."

Daniel smiled at her as he unlocked the door to their room. She smiled back, jerking her head towards the bathroom.

"I'm gonna take a shower before going to bed," she told him. "Didn't get the chance to this morning."

"Ah," Daniel said teasingly. "That would explain the smell."

Vala stuck her tongue out at him, grabbing her stuff and walking into the adjourning room.

XxXxX

Daniel was on the edge of drifting into sleep when he heard the bathroom door open. Half conscious, he raised his head slightly to see Vala finally coming out. She caught him looking at her and gave him a sheepish grin, pointing at the door to the hall.

"Left my hair dryer in Sam's room," she explained quietly. Daniel nodded, the words not making a whole lot of sense to him, and sunk into another world of zombie hair dryers chasing him.

XxXxX

_It was a gorgeous city, really. Like nothing Daniel Jackson had ever seen before. Yet…for some reason, it seemed familiar, as if something had happened here. Something important._

_"Danny boy!"_

_Smiling wryly at the giddiness in Vala Mal Doran's voice, Daniel turned to see the ex-con bouncing towards him. She glanced around at the city encompassing them and flashed a blinding smile his direction._

_"Perfect place, isn't it?" she asked sincerely. "Bet you're glad I found it!"_

_Despite himself, Daniel couldn't help but assume she was giving him sexual implications and began to say so. However, he never had the opportunity. Vala's head snapped back, a scream piercing through the air. She sunk to the ground lifelessly and a hoard of memories bombarded Daniel. The sky seemed to fill with blood and tears stung his eyes as he sunk to his knees in misery._

_"Vala…" he choked, brushing a thick black lock of hair off her still warm cheek. "Oh, Vala…"_

XxXxX

_"Daniel…"_

_Daniel whirled towards the voice, the all-too familiar voice, speaking in all-too familiar tone. But no one was there._

_"Daniel…"_

_He spun around again, following the direction of the voice with worried eyes._

_"Daniel…Daniel…Daniel…Daniel!"_

_"What?" Daniel finally bellowed. "Leave me alone, Adria, leave me alone!"_

_"But, Daniel…"_

_"Stop it!" Daniel screamed, clapping his hands over his ears in attempt to block the voice out. "Stop it! Once was enough, Adria! Once still haunts me! Leave me alone, Adria, stop it!"_

_"Oh, Daniel…"_

_"No!"_

_"Daniel…"_

_He stared in horror as Adria sauntered into view, in an all-too familiar dress, with an all-too familiar air and purpose about her. Why was this happening again? Where was the team? Cameron, Samantha, Teal'c, Vala… Where were they and why weren't they here, helping him ward off this evil seductress? His eyes caught sight of his hands and widened in revulsion when he saw they were milky white. He was a Prior again. Or maybe…maybe the last three years had all been a dream._

_"Daniel…"_

_"NO!"_

XxXxX

"Uh!" With a start, Daniel jerked awake. His eyes wide open, he stared around the room, not recognizing a thing. Suddenly he remembered the zombie hair dryers and the past couple of days came rushing back. He frowned and noticed Vala was nowhere to be seen. He shrugged, figuring she had gone out to do some research on her own or had gone downstairs for breakfast, and climbed out of bed to take a shower.

After drying himself off and throwing on a fresh pair of BDUs, Daniel grabbed his razor and wiped off the humidity on the mirror. He leaned forward, squirting shaving cream into his hand and felt his other hand rest on something that wasn't the bathroom counter. Frowning, he looked down and saw a piece of paper, full of Vala's handwriting, resting on the counter, addressed to him. He picked it up and squinted at it, reading.

_Hey Danny._

_Yeah, yeah, I know, you're going to kill me when you see me, but that's okay. And I really am sorry, okay?_

_You know I'm not patient. At all. I wasn't about to sit around, doing research on the City of the Undead while we could just__go__and find it. And I knew you wouldn't exactly__like__that idea so…like I said, I'm sorry. I've gone to look for the City of the Undead. I'll come back when I find it or you can come and find me, whatever. I don't know exactly which direction I should be going, so if you talk to Henwies you should either get there before me or we'll meet up at the same time or maybe I'll get lucky and find it right away. Unlikely, but what the hey. So…I guess I'll see you soon. Hopefully. ;p Don't worry, I'll be all right!_

_Sorry again._

_Vala_

Daniel's heart sunk into his stomach, a dead weight. "Shit. Adria's out there."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	9. 8: The Undead

"Hey Henwies?" Cameron called as the team rushed down the stairs. The stout man turned, beaming.

"Yes?"

"Which direction's the city supposed to be?"

"North," Henwies answered, pointing. "That way."

Cam nodded. "Thanks," he replied, and hurried outside to keep up with Daniel, who had run out immediately after Henwies had said the word 'north'.

XxXxX

"I think I see something," Daniel said, squinting into the trees.

"Like me?" Vala asked, skipping through the brush towards him. Daniel gave her his best death glare. She threw him her trademark grin, batting her eyelashes.

"Before you strangle me," Vala quickly said when he took a step towards her, "I found the City of the Undead."

"Well, then take us to it!" Cameron ordered with a wary glance at Daniel's extremely ticked off expression. Vala's grin notched up a couple watts.

"Follow me!"

XxXxX

"Whoa…" Cameron breathed as the city came into view. It was a sight unlike any other, sort of like Iarad, being old looking but futuristic, yet with more of a flow and reason to it rather than the mix-match of Iarad. Large, almost sphere-like buildings made it up, with a lone, enormous mountain immediately behind it. But the city didn't stop there. Cylindrical formations jutted out of the hollow mountain, boasting proud interiors.

"That's…beautiful," Sam whispered, awed, as they walked into the city in reverence.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"You know what's odd, though?" Daniel mused, eyes fixed on the city. Cameron and Sam inclined their heads his direction.

"What?" Cam asked.

"It seems…familiar somehow," Daniel said, frowning. He was about to step forward and enter the heart of the city but stopped when Vala bounded up behind up.

"Danny boy!"

With a sigh, he turned around to see Vala flashing him a hundred-watt grin.

"Perfect place, isn't it?" she asked sincerely. "Bet you're glad I found it!"

Time froze in Daniel's world as a keen sense of déjà vu washed over him. He realized why the city was so familiar and he remembered the haunting scream that had woken him the morning they first heard of the City of the Undead. And he knew, with sudden clarity, what was going to happen next.

Time came rushing back and Daniel stepped forward to push Vala out of the way of whatever force was going to hit her. However, it was too late.

Vala's grin snapped into a look of shock and pain, her mouth opening into a scream. Like a leaf falling from a tree in autumn, she fell, softly, delicately, to the ground and Daniel followed, sinking to his knees.

"Vala…" he chocked disbelievingly. If only he had remembered sooner, he would've been able to save her… He brushed a black curl out of her face tenderly. "Oh, Vala…"

He looked up to see Adria approaching and bit back a bellow of rage at her. Shaking with fury at the Orici _and_ himself, he stood back up.

"You missed," he told her, his voice steady yet red with wrath. Adria flicked her gaze at her mother's body.

"So I did." She stepped forward and knelt by Vala's form, resting a hand on her brow, and whispered, "Rise." Then she rose herself, taking a half step back. Vala's shoulders twitched and she gasped, blinking wildly. Quickly, she pushed herself up, giving Daniel and Adria a confused stare.

"What just happened?" she demanded.

"You died," Cam supplied from behind Daniel. Vala glanced at him.

"How?"

"_She_ was trying to kill _me_," Daniel said through his clenched jaw, eyes locked with whom he was speaking of. Vala followed his gaze and frowned at her daughter.

"Why?"

"Because his purposes have been fulfilled," Adria snapped. "However, I would've _gladly_ let him live if it hadn't have been—"

"It doesn't matter," Daniel interrupted before Adria could go too far. The Orici smiled her unnerving, evil smile.

"Mother," she said, not removing her eyes from Daniel's. "I would suggest stepping aside."

Vala's eyes flew wide and she quickly stepped farther in her daughter's way. "Are you _insane_? I'm not going to let you kill him!"

"Vala," Daniel said quietly. "Do as Adria says."

Vala whirled around. "What?"

"Jackson?" Cam said warningly.

"Daniel, what are you saying?" Sam asked.

"I'll explain later," Daniel replied, now staring deep into Vala's eyes. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling he was trying to tell her something and she wasn't catching on.

"Ha!" Adria laughed. "Except for the fact you'll be dead."

"Vala…" Daniel whispered, a promise lingering in his blue eyes. She frowned at him, confused, a few moments longer before slowly stepping to the side.

Suddenly Daniel's head snapped back and a strangled cry burst from his throat. He crumpled to the ground, folding into an undignified ball. Vala stifled a scream into a whimper and shut her eyes, unable to watch. Soon Adria lifted her intense stare from Daniel's now unmoving body and, turning on her heel, left. Vala suppressed a shuddering sob and scurried to Daniel's side. She cradled his head in her arms, rocking back and forth as to keep the tears at bay. No matter how many times Daniel died, she could never get used to it. Teal'c tightened his grip on his P90, smoldering eyes fixed on where Adria had disappeared into the trees. Cameron kicked at the dirt, letting out a bellow of frustration and anger. Sam simply stared blankly at Daniel's limp expression, unsure whether to believe this was the last time the linguist would die. It turned out she was right to hope.

"Does anyone but me realize that, given my track record, I'm not staying dead anytime soon? Not that I don't appreciate your concern…"

Sam's head snapped up to stare at the source of the voice. There stood Daniel, fit and healthy as ever, only seeming a bit transparent. A triumphant grin was plastered on his face and his eyes would've sparkled if he had been a little more solid. Sam's eyes strayed to Vala, still kneeling by Daniel's body. Her head was whipping back and forth, from his body, lifeless and turning cold, to _him_…grinning at her.

"How-?"

"It's the City of the Undead!" Daniel told them. "Do you actually _think_ it'd be possible to stay _dead_ in the City of the _Un_dead?"

"But we weren't _positive_ that this was the one we were looking for!" Cameron pointed out, taking a step towards him. Daniel shrugged.

"Took a chance."

"What if you had been wrong?" Cam bellowed. "_You_ would be _dead_!"

Daniel frowned at him. "The point is I'm not. You can thoroughly chew me out later." He jerked his head at the center of the city. "Right now we have a secret waiting to be found."

"You're…transparent," Vala breathed, not having recovered quite yet. Daniel's gaze turned back to her.

"Well…" He looked down at himself. "I must be a ghost."

Vala stood up shakily, staring at Daniel like he was a foreign object, not a person, and crept closer to him. Warily, she reached out a hand, index finger straight, and poked him. Her face lit up in utter horror as her finger slid _through_ his shoulder and she immediately jumped back with a yelp. Daniel winced, his hand flying to clutch his shoulder. He met her wild eyes and gave her a short, wry quirk of the lips.

"That was weird," he commented. Vala nodded her agreement frantically.

"We should continue on," Teal'c pointed out. Cameron nodded.

"Let's go find us a secret."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	10. 9: In The City

The team followed Daniel through the city as he searched for some clue to help. Sam's thoughts were on the possibilities that this city held, her mind straying to Jack. Finally, she took a couple quick steps to bring herself up to Daniel's side.

"Daniel?" she asked, her voice far away. The archeologist looked down to her and frowned.

"Yeah?"

"If…you can't stay dead here, do you think…do you think you could bring the body of someone already dead to this city and—"

"Sam…" Daniel interrupted when her voice started to turn hysterical. She shook her head, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Do you?" she asked desperately. Daniel stopped walking and reached out to rest a hand on her shoulder, but realizing it wouldn't work, drew away, instead looking hard into her eyes.

"First, Sam, he's _decaying_ right now. I'd prefer to remember him alive and not rotting than the other option," he said with a slight smile. "Second, I think you have to have died within the city's borders for the undead thing to work. And, third, he'd be a ghost. It wouldn't last, either. It'd only renew the heartbreak."

Sam nodded, trying to hide her tears and rubbing her eyes furiously, only succeeding in reddening her face further. "I miss him," she whispered.

"You're not alone," Cam told her.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "We _all_ grieve for General O'Neill."

Daniel pushed the image Adria had installed in his mind of Jack's last moments. Vala came around to Sam's side and reached out to give her a comforting hug. However, she found herself walking _through_ Sam.

"Holy crow!" Vala exclaimed, as she and Sam jumped away from each other, Sam's tears suddenly petrified into non-existence.

"You are transparent," Teal'c observed, frowning at Vala. Vala looked down at herself.

"But—"

"Your body's back there!" Daniel said, pointing behind the others. They turned to look, Vala's hand flying to her mouth to stifle a horrified squeak. It seemed like she had simply fallen, dead, and her ghost had kept on walking with no idea what had happened.

"I take it you can't stay dead…or alive," Daniel mused. Cameron frowned.

"Does that mean Sam, Teal'c, and me'll turn into ghosts too?"

Daniel shrugged. "I would think so."

"Why'd it happen to me before them?" Vala asked.

"Did you come into the city before meeting up with us?" Daniel inquired. Vala frowned, thinking.

"Yeah. So are you saying—?"

"Must be sort of a timer," Daniel concluded. "If you've been here too long, you die. Well. Then become undead."

"Are we going to be able to get outta here _alive_?" Sam asked, concerned. Daniel shrugged again.

"We'll have to see."

"Whoa, Jackson!" Cam interrupted, raising his hands. "If we're not going to be able to get outta here—"

"It's already too late," Daniel said, pointing at him. "The three of you just died."

Cameron looked over his shoulder to see himself lying, dead, on the ground. Quickly, he stepped away, the color draining from his face. "Crap, crap, crap, crap…"

Teal'c experimented the feel of being a ghost, jiggling his fingers around. Vala giggled slightly as she and Sam reached out their index fingers toward one another and they visibly shivered at the contact. Sam smiled slightly and whispered in a distorted voice:

"ET come home…"

XxXxX

Daniel was getting frustrated. And from what he could tell from Cameron's constant mutterings behind him, the others were getting there too. They hadn't found _anything_: no writings, no science, no evidence that there had _ever_ been life, or undeath, in the city. Except for the city itself. The buildings were completely vacant, with no indicators of their original purposes. Finally Daniel heard a loud, exasperated sigh from Vala and could almost _see_ her mouth open to complain.

What happened then paralyzed her vocal chords, however.

"Whoa!" Daniel exclaimed, stepping back.

"What the hell?" Cameron hissed.

"What just happened?" Sam asked.

"I believe we are no longer in the City of the Undead," Teal'c stated unnecessarily. Unnecessarily because the scenery had, abruptly, completely changed. Instead of the unworldly structures of the before, they had suddenly found themselves in a very modern _Earth_… in fact, rather _American_ town. The odd thing was, though, that there was no sign of life. Unlike the City of the Undead, it was obvious there _had_ been life at one point and time…just not now. It looked like that whatever had happened had been fairly recent. And it had caught the citizens completely off guard. Cars were in the streets, horrible wrecks as far as the eye could see. Newspaper flitted in the wind and the usual litter cluttered the sidewalks. The streetlights still changed from red to green, green to yellow, and yellow to red and a few shopping carts were rolling in the parking lot of a…

"Wal-Mart?" Cam read disbelievingly.

"There's a Penny's over there!" Vala exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she took a step towards the clothing store. Daniel grabbed her arm firmly and shook his head. She gave him her best disappointed pout before sighing and crossing her arms, resigned.

"Well…let's split up and see if we can find any sign of current life," Cam said, trying unsuccessfully to wipe the confused look off his face. "Teal'c, you're with me. Sam and Vala, you two go the _opposite_ direction of the Penny's. Jackson…go whichever way pleases you."

Daniel raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm honored."

Cameron grinned back. "You should be."

"Hey!" Vala suddenly exclaimed. "We're…not ghosts."

Everyone turned to see her picking up an abandoned wallet, frowning at the fact she could actually do that.

"Vala…" Daniel sighed, snatching the wallet out of her fingers. "Leave it alone."

"She's right, though…" Sam mused, brushing her hand against the pavement. "We're solid."

"Why?" Cam asked. Sam shrugged and looked up at Daniel. It took him a moment to realize they were waiting for him to answer.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed. "I don't even know why we're here! Or where _here_ is!"

"Okay, okay, chill," Cam said hurriedly. "We'll figure that out later. Right now, let's go check this place out."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	11. 10: The Girl

Aftermath

Briar Elwood

A/N: OMG, I finally started to watch The Shroud...(THE NEXT THING I'M ABOUT TO SAY IS A SPOILER) I have ESP! DanAdria all the way!! (thinks for a moment...) Ew...

Chapter X

The Girl

A little over an hour later, Cameron's voice crackled over Daniel's radio.

"Okay, so there's no way we're going to be able to search every place in this town and we're not finding anything," he said. "You guys having any luck?"

"Nope," Sam replied.

"Same here," Daniel answered as he walked out of another vacant home.

"Right, well, Teal'c and me are downtown, at the city hall…"

"Downtown?" Sam echoed. "Vala and I are only a couple blocks away! We'll meet you there."

"I'm gonna finish the neighborhood I'm on," Daniel told them. "Then I'll go back to the Wal-Mart and you can give me directions from there."

"Sounds like a plan," Cam agreed. "See you in a few. Mitchell out."

Daniel continued on into the next house, a large brick house. The front door was unlocked like most of the rest and a split-level greeted him. He went upstairs first, absentmindedly looking through the kitchen (resisting the urge to snack on the fairly fresh cheesecake), the living room, a couple of bathrooms and a few bedrooms. When he saw an Elton John CD sitting by a stereo, _Crocodile Rock _started playing through his head and, on his way to the basement, he sung what he remembered of the lyrics.

Maybe his off-key voice had been heard. Maybe that's why Dr. Lam would tut over him when the team finally got back home. Maybe if he hadn't had filled the basement with Susie and his old, old Chevy _she_ wouldn't have irritably and groggily wondered who the heck was singing her favorite song way off tune. Then again, maybe it was because of Susie and those skipping stones they found the secret.

After admiring the insanely large TV in the main room in the basement, Daniel wandered through the blue laundry room, bamboo bathroom, fluffy clouded bedroom, and into the last room at the far, dark end of the hall. He flicked on the light switch in the hall and the darkness disappeared.

He could tell the owner of the room liked comic books without even opening the door. Spider-Man, Batman and Super Man covered the outside of it, but with great care and taste. Daniel pushed it open and raised an eyebrow without a thought.

All four walls were completely covered with an assortment of…everything. There were a couple of bulletin boards boasting accomplishments and photographs. There were movie posters of popular fantasy and sci-fi films like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, as well as many miscellaneous dragon and fairy paintings. A few pieces of art seemed to have been homemade, possibly by the owner. There was a desk in the far corner, obviously used as more of a display than a work area. Beside it was a double window with long, silky curtains and flowers embroidered into them. Hanging along with the curtains was a very authentic-looking dream catcher, the feathers fluttering slightly from the vent above it. A large, green cabinet was in the other corner, thousands of loose papers falling out from the interior and a beautiful, old jewelry box on top. There was a large pile of clothes between that and the bookcase/bedside table, which was covered with a stereo/alarm clock and random odds and ends. The floor was a typical teenager's floor, horribly cluttered and messy.

Then there was the bed. The bed itself was pretty normal except for the fact it had compartments connects to the bottom of it. But it was what was _in_ the bed that made Daniel's hand shoot to grab his radio.

"Hey, uh…I've found a girl."

She looked about eighteen maybe, if you ignored the obvious fact she seemed younger asleep…or dead, whatever the case was. Her hair was just barely past her shoulders, black and wavy and pulled back into a ponytail. She lay on her back, her covers pushed down to the foot of the bed.

"Is she alive?" Cam asked. "Where are you?"

"Uh…a street called McKinley. Big brick house. In the basement," Daniel replied, tiptoeing through the piles of debris, closer to the girl's side. "I don't know if she's alive," he said, reaching out to check her pulse. "I'm about to—" He cut off suddenly, eyes widening in shock. Her blue grey eyes had snapped open and his wrist was caught in an iron grip.

"Jackson?" Cam asked, concern obvious. "Jackson!"

Daniel was about to reply when he suddenly found himself on his back, his head hitting something hard on the floor. The girl was crouched over him, hand still gripping his wrist as she stared at him hard and silently in the eyes.

"Jackson, do you read me?"

Her eyes flicked to his radio before her free hand reached out and grabbed it, flinging it against the wall. Daniel winced when he heard it smash.

"You know…they know where I am," Daniel pointed out. She glared at him again, and then slowly stood up. Daniel did so too, quick as a rabbit. He rubbed the back of his head as he watched her limp over to the foot of her bed and clutch a staff (maybe it was a cane) that had been resting beside a few display swords.

"So, uh…what's your—"

The limp had been an act. In one sudden, fluid movement, she brought the staff around and hit Daniel squarely in the head. A short, painful grunt burst from his lips as his eyes rolled up into his head and he fell onto the cluttered floor, unconscious.

00

My hands were shaking. My staff shuddered horribly in my clutch, threatening to fall and further bruise the stranger lying unconscious on my floor. Letting out a shaky breath, I hardened my grip on the wood, not wanting to let go of my defense. After looking around and assessing my room, I jumped into action. I threw down the windows, locking them and scurried away from the strange man, locking him inside. Then I ran upstairs to find Mom.

"Mom?" I called, my voice barely a whisper. I cleared my throat, annoyed at my nervousness, and looked around the living room. "Mom?" I repeated, louder. "Dad?" I frowned, poking my head into the kitchen. "Juls?" No one was in the office either. "Aimy?" What about… "Ell?" Finally, I looked into the master bedroom. No one. What was going on? Had they gone to the store, or something, while I was taking my nap? Or was this some belated trick for my birthday? I ran to the garage and saw both vehicles sitting there, perfectly normal. Well, they were home at least. Or…they should be. My thoughts drifted to the strange man, knocked out in my room, and a large lump formed in my throat. I walked slowly back inside, my clutch tightening on my staff as to turn my knuckles white as snow. I sat on the couch in the living room, fighting back terrified tears.

Where was my family? Ell was only four; he hadn't done anything to anyone. Aimy, the short and energetic eight-year-old…Juls, kind, soft and trying to hard to be the teenager she'd be in a few months…Mom, who was just _Mom_, someone I could trust and depend on…and Dad, one of my best friends yet greatest enemy, the perfect leader to our wacky family.

Where were they?

"'Big brick house' he said. This is the only brick house on this street!"

"How do we know he's even still in there?"

"We don't!"

I jumped to my feet and whirled around to see four people walking up to my front door. Luckily, in my panic, I had locked every last door and window in the house. But I knew they'd probably end up picking the lock, so, tightening my grip on my staff once more, I rushed back downstairs to my room.

It was time to get some answers.

A/N: Okay, I'm sorry about suddenly switching to first-person. I tried to keep it third but it got so redundant with saying "she" over and over again and finally I broke down and made it first. I won't do that again, I promise. Except maybe one part, but I'll warn you.

I love people who review!!


	12. 11: Q

The side of his head pounding, Daniel woke to a strange tapping sound. He sat up tenderly and looked around for the source to see Vala kneeling on the ground outside, rapping her knuckles on the window. She grinned and waved at him. He shook his head, amused, and stood up, walking to the window. He unlatched it and pushed out the screen, climbing up to crawl out. Vala and Sam grabbed his hands to help him.

"So what happened?" Vala began to ask when the bedroom door suddenly flung open and the girl ran in and, catching everyone off guard, pulled Daniel back in by the ankle. She slammed the window shut and relocked it, glaring at the linguist in front of her. Daniel winced, and then flung his arms over his head when she raised her staff threateningly.

"Ah!" he cried. "Don't!"

She lowered it slowly and walked past him, sticking the staff out to trip him. Daniel fell, hard, to his butt, completely taken off guard and whipped his head around to give her the most incredulous look he could muster: one he tended to use for Vala a lot. She met it after picking up his radio and P90, waving them at him teasingly. Daniel frowned.

"I thought you broke the radio," he said.

"I turned it off," she replied gruffly. "I have a few questions for you."

"Uh…okay…"

"What did you do to my family?" she asked without a further hesitation. Daniel's eyes widened. He hadn't been expecting that.

"Uh…I didn't do anything, kid. Seriously."

Her jaw muscles visibly tightened and she suddenly jammed the tip of his P90 against his temple. He winced again and sighed.

"Do you even know how to shoot that thing?" he asked. She eyed him distastefully.

"Point and shoot and it seems I've got the point part down."

Daniel inclined his head, seeing her reasoning.

"My name is Q," she said into the radio. "I have your friend's weapon to his head and will not hesitate to shoot if you do not answer a few questions to my satisfaction."

"What do you want, kid?" Cam's voice asked tersely.

"First, I want everyone to stop calling me 'kid'," she answered angrily. "I'm sixteen. I'm not a kid."

"Fine."

"What did you do to my family?" she finally inquired.

"They didn't do anything…" Daniel hissed under his breath. Q jammed the point of the gun deeper into his temple.

"Look, we didn't do anything. We don't even know where we are," Cam answered, the irritated tone growing with every syllable. Vala reached for her radio as well but ended up jumping several feet in the air when a single round of gunshots rang through the air.

"That was simply a warning, directed to his upper leg," Q told them. "But, as you can hear, it's still not too pleasant."

She held her finger on the button a little longer to let the team hear Daniel's loud, pained cursing. Daniel glared at her, hands grasping the wound, blood seeping through his fingers.

"You're _sixteen_?" he asked disbelievingly. She ignored him.

"I ask again, what did you do to my family?"

"We didn't-!" Vala started only to be shoved by Cameron.

"Shut up!" he hissed, but it was too late. Another round of Daniel's P90 rang through the air. This time, they didn't need their radios to hear Daniel's bellows.

"ARGH! Son of a-! Holy—ow, ow, ow…gaaaaa…." He looked up to glare at Q again. "I don't like you!"

Q met his glare. "I don't care!" she yelled back. "I don't like _you_, either! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FAMILY?" she bellowed, as to keep the threatening tears at bay. If Daniel wasn't biting his lip so hard because of the pain, he might've felt some sympathy for her but, for crying out loud, she had shot him! Twice!

"Drop the gun," Teal'c always calm voice said at the doorway. Q whirled around to aim the P90 at the Jaffa.

"Do as he says," Cameron ordered, coming up from behind Teal'c. Both men pointed their P90s back at her. Seeing she was out-numbered, Q set the P90 on the floor gently and raised her arms in surrender. Cam nodded at Teal'c as he walked over to help Daniel up. Teal'c inclined his head in acknowledgement and raised his zat, stunning the teen.

Daniel growled at Cameron as the colonel helped him up.

"Took you long enough."

"You know, it's a wonder you don't have your own personal bed in the infirmary yet," Cam joked.

"It's because Carolyn doesn't like me as much as you," Daniel pointed out. Cam stuck his tongue out at him.

"I could drop you," he threatened.

"But you won't," Daniel added, giving Cameron the most menaced-filled glare he could muster. It did the job.

Teal'c picked Q up and they walked back outside to greet Sam and Vala, the latter of the two pacing a hole into the sidewalk. Her eyes brightened as soon as she saw Daniel.

"Danny! You okay?" she asked, rushing to his side. Daniel winced as he put a little too much weight on his right leg.

"No," he replied shortly.

"So, that's her?" Sam asked, looking pointedly at the girl flung over Teal'c's shoulder. Cam nodded.

"Yeah. That's the little demon."

"She kinda reminds me of you," Daniel said, looking at Vala. Vala widened her eyes, hurt.

"I'd never shoot you!" she cried. Daniel raised an eyebrow at her.

"Uh…yeah, actually, you have in the past," he said. Vala frowned.

"When?"

"It wasn't a P90, but a zat still hurts," he continued. "On Prometheus, remember?"

Vala's eyes sparkled in recognition and she grinned. "That doesn't count. I did what I had to."

"_You_ were trying to get rich; _I_ was trying to get to Atlantis to see if Dr. Weir and the others were still alive!" Daniel argued. Vala rolled her eyes.

"You're so technical."

"So how do we get back?" Sam interrupted.

"We could simply walk back to the Wal-Mart," Teal'c suggested, "and see what happens there."

The rest of the team looked at him thoughtfully.

"It's worth a try," Cam said. It seemed no one else had a better idea anyway, so they did as Teal'c proposed.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	13. 12: Ideas

"Okay…" Cameron said when they suddenly found themselves back in the City of the Undead. "Now what?"

"Colonel Mitchell!" Teal'c suddenly exclaimed. Q had fallen through Teal'c and lay in his feet, the Jaffa giving her a very disturbed look, at least for him.

"Great," Cam muttered. He looked up to Sam and Daniel. "Any ideas?"

"Maybe we could just try to rejoin our bodies," Sam suggested. "It's a long shot but…"

"What about her?" Vala asked, nodding at Q.

"She should be out for awhile," Daniel pointed out. "We can come back for her when we're solid again. Or if it turns out we're stuck as ghosts" (Cameron and Sam winced at that) "then we can just zat her again and she'll become a ghost. Then we can hold her down."

"Yeah, well hopefully it won't get to that," Cam said anxiously. "We can try Sam's idea first, then move on from there."

They moved to walk to Sam, Teal'c, and Cameron's bodies when Daniel suddenly stopped short. Vala collided into his back, making both of their images shiver visibly, and frowned at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked. Daniel fingered his wounds, a thoughtful frown on his lips.

"The bleedings stopped. And…I'm not limping." He looked up to the rest of the team. "There are still distinct holes in my…skin and there's still blood on my leg and pants but…"

"It's cuz you're a ghost," Sam pointed out. "Ghosts aren't solid so they can't be wounded. And they're supposed to look exactly like they did when they died so…or, I guess, in our case, had a physical body…"

"Okay, this is giving me a headache," Cameron interrupted. He smiled slightly at Daniel. "Maybe Carolyn won't tut over you after all, Jackson."

Daniel laughed. "If I'm lucky."

They continued on, Teal'c staying behind with Q just in case. Sam, with a shrug, walked over to her body and lay down in it. Positioning her limps aligned with her body, she waited, a slightly impatient look on her face.

"That's kinda creepy," Cameron commented as they watched.

"What?" Sam asked.

"You can see both your dead face and your undead face…" Cam explained.

"I've got goose bumps," Vala whispered.

"Try closing your eyes," Daniel suggested.

"Your just scared," Sam muttered, but closed her eyes all the same. After a few silent moments, they opened. "It's not working," she said. Cameron sighed. "Okay, now what?"

"We could walk out," Vala said. Everyone eyed her.

"What?" Cam asked.

"We could walk out," Vala repeated.

"Of the city?" Sam asked, standing up. Vala shrugged.

"Think about it. Doesn't it make sense the whole undead thing would only work in the City of the Undead?" she explained.

"She's got a point," Daniel said. Cameron sighed and grabbed his radio.

"Teal'c, Sam's idea didn't work," he told the Jaffa. "But Vala's got another idea that we're gonna try…we'll keep you posted."

"I will be waiting," Teal'c promised. Cam looked up and gave Vala a grim look.

"Let's get going then."

XxXxX

"Wait," Daniel ordered, grabbing Cam's arm as to stop him from walking out of the city. Cam frowned at him.

"What?" he demanded.

"There are three possible outcomes to this," Daniel told him. "One, this works."

"Two, it doesn't," Cam continued. "Yes, I know, what's the third?"

"Well, it could simply not work," Daniel said uneasily, "or…"

"We could completely disappear after stepping out of the border," Sam finished, suddenly realizing what Daniel was worried about.

"And that's…not good," Cam concluded. Sam shook her head.

"No. We'd actually die."

"With no chance of coming back," Daniel added.

"I'll do it," Vala offered.

"What, test it out?" Cam asked incredulously. Vala nodded. Cam shook his head furiously. "Vala, I'm not letting you make that big of a sacrifice."

Vala let out a deep breath, staring hard into Cam's eyes. "I'm the least important of the team," she started.

"That is pure blasphemy," Daniel interrupted, grabbing her shoulder hard, his hand and her shoulder shuddering. Vala glared at him and brushed his hand away.

"Sam, you're the scientist. Cam, you lead the team. Teal'c's Jaffa and a warrior. Daniel, you've ascended and you're an archeologist and linguist. Me? What asset am I?"

"Comic relief," Daniel replied desperately, repeating her words to Henwies. Vala smiled wistfully.

"You've got Cam for that," she argued. "Cameron, you told me once that the hard part about being part of this team is not risking your own life, it's watching your friends risk theirs. Well, it's my turn to make that sacrifice. Deal."

Daniel looked up to the colonel. "When did you tell her that?" he asked. Cam sighed, a pained look in his eyes.

"When you got that download from Merlin," Cam replied. Daniel's eyes widened slightly in recognition, but then he shook his head.

"Vala, you can't—"

"Cameron gets the final word," Vala interrupted, staring at the colonel. Daniel whipped his gaze to Cam.

"Cam, please—"

This was the one thing Cameron Mitchell hated about his job. These kinds of decisions. Ones where, no matter which direction he went, someone was most likely get hurt. He didn't have the experience the rest of them had had, he didn't know. Though, he supposed, if they had been in his position, they would've found it difficult. He sighed, closing his eyes.

"She's right, Jackson," he finally answered. He opened his eyes to look hard at Daniel and Vala. "Not about being the least important, but about the sacrifices. Though, Vala—"

But she had already crossed the border.

"Vala!" Daniel yelled, taking a step towards her, inadvertently stepping over the border as well.

"Jackson!" Cam bellowed.

"Daniel!" Sam exclaimed.

"Aw, for cryin' out loud…"

Both Cameron and Sam whirled around look at where Daniel's body lay. The archeologist was sitting up, looking extremely annoyed. He looked at them, his mouth twisted angrily.

"My leg's bleeding again."

Cameron grabbed his radio. "Vala? Vala, do you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Cameron!" Vala's peppy voice replied. "It worked!"

Sam let out a shaky laugh. "Yes," she said, smiling at Daniel's irritated expression. "Yes, it did."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	14. 13: Breather

Aftermath

Briar Elwood

A/N: I love this…it's chapter thirteen and I'm possibly halfway through with the story. Maybe not even. Haha. I win.

Momento Mori mention…with lots of fluff. ;p

Chapter XIII

Breather

After Sam, Cameron and Teal'c crossed the border and returned to their bodies, Teal'c ran back to where he had left Q and grabbed her still unconscious body, quickly returning to leave the city.

"Won't miss that place," Cameron muttered as they turned back to travel to Iarad. He looked up to the glance at the sky. "We'll spend one more night at Henwies's place, then we'll head home."

Daniel glanced back at Teal'c as Sam and Vala both helped him along. "What about Q?" he asked. Cameron rolled his eyes.

"I'll keep an eye on her during the night," he said. "Shouldn't be too difficult."

Everyone kept his or her mouths shut. Like they were going to correct him.

**The Next Morning, At Henwies's Inn…**

"So, Cam how was last night?" Daniel asked, leaning heavily on the colonel's doorframe. Cameron looked up, zat in his hand, and glared at the archeologist.

"She," he spat, thrusting the zat at Q, "is a Devil's Child."

Daniel glanced down at his injured leg. "Really? I never would've guessed."

"You know," Cam started angrily. After a brief second of waving his zat at Daniel, mouth opening and closing aimlessly like a guppy; he shut his mouth suddenly and resumed to a death glare. "Just shut up."

Daniel grinned triumphantly and slowly turned around to Vala, who was waiting behind him.

"The poor colonel didn't sleep well last night?" she asked with false sympathy, loud enough for Cameron to hear.

"Shut up!" Cam bellowed. Vala grinned, wrapping her arm under Daniel's armpits to help him downstairs.

**Downstairs…**

"So, that girl you brought home with you…" Henwies said conversationally, sliding plates filled with a strange type of egg to Sam, Daniel, and Vala.

"Q," Vala supplied, attacking her breakfast eagerly.

"Yes, yes. Who is she? Where is she from? And…" the innkeeper eyes Daniel's bandaged leg "what happened to you?"

"She's…uh, an old friend of ours," Sam answered. Henwies frowned.

"What happened to her?" he asked. "Is she all right?"

"She'll be fine," Sam assured him. "She and Da—Bob, uh, ran into a little trouble."

"Fell down a cliff," Daniel offered. "Tore up my leg, Q got completely knocked out."

"But you two will be fine?" Henwies made sure. Daniel smiled at the man's concern.

"Yes, thank you."

"Because there are wonderful doctors—"

"I think," Sam interrupted quickly, "that we're going to go home and use our, uh, own doctors. Ones who know our medical past and all."

Henwies nodded his understanding. "Of course. So you will go through the Stargate today?"

Sam nodded.

"And will you be back?" Henwies asked, an almost pleading look on his face. The three friends exchanged glances.

"Uh…" Daniel said awkwardly. "We don't know."

"Okay, we're ready to go," Cam grumbled, coming down the stairs, Teal'c with Q on his shoulder behind him.

"No breakfast?" Henwies asked, holding out another plate of the odd eggs. Cameron gave it a short glance before shaking his head.

"We should get Da—Bob back home soon. And Q."

Henwies nodded dejectedly. "That's all right. I understand." He brightened a bit. "Well. I hope to see you all again. You six are, by far, my favorite customers in my entire inn keeping experience. Which is, if I do say so myself, quite a bit."

Sam smiled at him gratefully as Vala helped Daniel stand up. Vala grunted slightly under his weight, but smiled at Sam, Cameron, and Teal'c.

"Let's go home."

**The Next Day (Well, Night, Actually)…**

"I can believe she actually let you out that easily," Vala commented as she stood at Daniel's stove, stirring a pot of pasta. Daniel simply smiled.

"Well, you took pretty good care of my leg at Henwies's," he pointed out. Vala grinned to herself, remembering that night. "Carolyn didn't have that much to do. All that's really left is for it to heal."

"And what about Q?" Vala asked, looking over her shoulder. Daniel sighed, closing his eyes.

"We'll get to her tomorrow," he said wearily. "Not now. Not tonight."

Vala didn't argue. She didn't want to ruin the mood already. Tonight the two of them had decided to finally do that dinner (or date) that Daniel owed Vala. She was looking forward to it, and, though Daniel would never admit it out loud to anyone, Daniel was too. Seeing as Daniel still couldn't get many places without the help of a crutch or some other hindrance, they were doing it at Daniel's apartment and Vala was cooking them an Italian pasta dish that she had found. Daniel hadn't even bothered to ask how or where.

At the moment, Daniel sat at one of the kitchen table chairs, right leg propped up on a stool to the side. He was leaning back comfortably, completely content in watching Vala cook. The ex-space pirate had her hair up in a messy bun (that she would immediately fix into something nice after finishing cooking) and a bright pink apron declaring "Kiss the Cook" was thrown over her temporary sweats (again, she'd change right after cooking). She glanced back, throwing the linguist her blinding smile.

"So…other than eat," she said conversationally, "what are we gonna do tonight?"

Daniel's smile disappeared. "Okay, first of all, there's my leg to consider," he said hurriedly. "Second—"

"Not everything I say is innuendo!" Vala interrupted, turning back to the pasta. She lifted the spatula carefully, pulling off a strand of spaghetti and testing the texture. After seeming satisfied, she turned off the burner and slid the pot off it.

"Sorry," Daniel apologized. "You got that look on your face, though…"

"This look?" Vala asked, flashing him her trademark grin as she dumped the pasta in a strainer in the sink. Daniel nodded.

"Exactly."

Vala giggled as she dumped the steaming food back into the pot. "You never answered my question."

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "What was it?"

Vala glanced back at him again. "What are we gonna do tonight?"

Daniel shrugged. "Take a breather."

A/N: Yeah, so this chapter was mostly fuzz balls to fill an empty space. But, trust me, the next chapter starts to get really interesting. Yes, more interesting than the story is already. ;p


	15. 14: 2101

"Name," Cameron stated, looking down at the paper in front of him.

"Q Larienge," the teenager replied. Cam looked up at her skeptically.

"Q? As in the guy from Star Trek?"

Q pursed her lips. "I can't help what my parents named me."

"I'm not trying to insult you, kid!" Cam argued.

"Cameron," Sam reprimanded from the other room. The colonel looked up to give Sam a very frustrated look before standing up suddenly and turning to Daniel and Vala behind him.

"Why don't you two talk to her?" he suggested. Then he walked out to join Sam and Teal'c to watch. Daniel sighed and limped forward to sit in the chair Cam had been sitting in.

"Okay, first off. My name's Daniel. This is Vala," he said, gesturing at the ex-con. "The guy who just stormed out is Cameron, the blonde's Samantha, and the big guys' Teal'c. We…well, all of us except Vala and Teal'c, are from a planet called Earth."

"Wait, wait, wait," Q interrupted. "Duh, you're from Earth, what do you mean _they_ aren't? Interplanetary travel isn't possible!"

There was a stunned pause. "So you're from Earth," Vala stated slowly.

"Duh."

"So it didn't just _look_ like Earth, it _was_ Earth," Cam muttered from behind the glass.

"How does that work?" Sam asked.

"It doesn't."

"Um…" Daniel was saying, eyes flicking up from Q to the window where the others were waiting. "Where, exactly, on Earth do you live?"

"The West," Q replied. "Colorado Section."

Daniel's eyebrows shot up. "Okay this next question's on a whim: What year is it?"

"2101," Q answered automatically.

"Holy!" Vala exclaimed. Daniel leaned back thoughtfully.

"Look, I don't know what nay of this has to do with_anything_," Q said, "but I have a question for you. Where's my family? And what do you want with me?"

"Hey, hey, calm down," Vala said quickly. "We're trying to figure out what happened to your family, okay? Just give us a chance and a few answers. We're trying to help."

Q fumed silently for a moment. "And what do you want with me?" she repeated.

"You're here cuz you shot Daniel," Vala replied testily. "We don't take things like that lightly."

"I'm sorry, all right?" Q yelled. "I thought…I didn't…well, what would you do if your family disappeared? Why did you react like that when I told you the year? Are you two aliens? What is going on?"

"Here, on our Earth," Daniel began, leaning forward slightly, "it's the year 2010. My guess is you're from ninety-one years into our future. And, yes, Vala and Teal'c are _aliens_. Though we're not really fond of that term."

"Jackson, out in the hall," Cam ordered over the com. Daniel nodded, grabbed his crutches and limped out the room.

"She's the secret," Sam said as soon as the door closed behind the archeologist. "Either that or something about her."

"Yeah, I know that much," Daniel agreed. "But what, exactly, are we looking for?"

"Hey, Daniel?" Vala asked from the door. The linguist looked over his shoulder and frowned.

"Yeah?"

"You might wanna hear this…"

XxXxX

"I don't know why it matters…" Q was arguing.

"It doesn't matter _why_," Daniel said exasperatedly.

"Okay, fine. Some _guy_ came through this thing…Stargate, I think," Q started. "Hadn't been used in _years_, they shut it down in the fifties, I think. But this guy came through and said he was from another planet and that we should all bow down to these god-type things, the Ori, I think… It was on the evening news. Of course, us people being the way we are, especially us in Old America, weren't gonna go for that. Then he threatened us, like with our lives and all." She paused, frowning at Daniel's shocked expression. "It was all a hoax, though!" She lost enthusiasm when Daniel's face didn't soften. "At least…that's what they told us."

Daniel was deadly silent as he turned around to give Vala a grim look. She returned it.

"Wait…" Q said slowly, realization dawning on her. "Are you saying it _wasn't_ a hoax? And…he _did_ kill everyone? But…"

"We can't be sure," Daniel said solemnly, "but we've run into his type before. He was serious about those threats. They always are."

"Well…" Vala said quietly. "Not always."

"I don't count," Daniel countered. "The point is, it is very likely this guy, the Prior, killed everyone on Earth."

"Except you," Vala added. "Which doesn't make sense."

"He killed…_everyone_?" Q whispered. "That's…that's what happened to my family? They…they're all…_dead_? And all my friends…Mej…Zahk…Stevun…everyone? But…oh my gosh…." She ran a shaky hand through her black hair, staring blankly at the table in front of her. "Oh my gosh…"

"I think we should give her a break," Daniel said quietly, standing up. Vala nodded and they walked out, leaving the teenager alone with her grief and memories.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	16. 15: Necklace

"There's only one way she could've survived that we know of," Daniel was telling General Landry. "And that's if she was wearing Adria's necklace."

"I hate that thing," Cameron commented.

"It gives her an unfair advantage," Teal'c added.

"An advantage she doesn't really need it the first place with all her other wacky powers," Sam pointed out.

"I want Sam and Vala to talk to her this time," Landry said. "Maybe something about females will help…comfort her and get her to trust us more."

XxXxX

"How are you feeling?" Sam asked gently as she and Vala walked into the room Q was waiting in. Q looked up, eyes lost in a daze, and frowned.

"I…I don't know," she admitted. "You'd think I'd be completely out of my mind by now but I'm just…"

"You're in shock," Sam told her. "It'll wear off in awhile. _That's_ when you'll lose it," she said with a wry smile.

"I don't get it, though," Q continued. "How come _I'm_ not dead?"

Sam's mouth twisted. "That's what we're gonna try to figure out."

Vala touched Sam's arm briefly, signaling she wanted to talk and Sam nodded, stepping to the side.

"What time of year is it?" Vala asked, sitting in the seat opposite of Q. "Back home, I mean."

Q shrugged. "July."

"What is she doing?" Cameron asked incredulously. Teal'c and Daniel's only response was to frown.

Vala nodded, thinking. "Okay…when's your birthday?"

"July 22nd," Q replied.

"Is that coming up or…?"

"It was just a couple days ago," Q answered.

"So you _just_ turned sixteen, "Vala concluded. Q nodded. "Did you get anything particular for your birthday?"

Q grinned slightly. "I finally got my own computer. It's not classy but I love it."

Vala nodded, every detail soaking in and being tucked away for future reference. "Anything else?"

"Well…I got a necklace."

Sam's eyes widened and she shot a look to the three men behind the window. Cameron looked completely blown away, Teal'c had an amused smile on his lips, and Daniel was doubled-over with laughter.

Vala nodded thoughtfully. "And were you wearing this necklace when you took that nap?" she asked. Q shrugged again.

"Yeah. I haven't ever taken it off. Why?"

Vala ignored her question and leaned forward a fraction. "Can I see it?"

Q nodded and pulled the necklace out from beneath her t-shirt. Vala bit the inside of her cheek while Sam chuckled.

"Show it to the guys," the colonel bid. Q turned around, presenting the necklace to Cam, Teal'c and Daniel.

"Okay…" Cam murmured, some of the shock having worn off. "Now the question is, how did she get a hold of it?"

"Vala figured that out too," Daniel pointed out, taking his eyes off Adria's necklace. "It was given to her for her birthday."

"Who gave this to you?" Vala continued.

"This guy," Q answered vaguely. "He had just moved into the neighborhood. Said I reminded him of his wife who died a year ago, that's why he gave it to me."

Vala frowned. "What was his name?"

"Uh…Tomin or something."

"What?" Cam burst. Vala let out a shaky breath as she leaned back, looking up to meet Daniel's suddenly concerned gaze. Q's eyes darted back and forth between Sam and Vala, utterly confused.

"Was there anything else Tomin said?" Sam asked when she saw Vala wasn't going to continue. Q thought for a moment.

"Well…he said that he didn't steal it. He made it. Though I didn't understand what that was about…"

A silence consumed both rooms as the team considered this notion.

"I don't get it," she finally admitted. "What does that have to do with…this whole thing?"

"Vala, you okay explaining?" Cam asked over the com. Vala nodded, straightening up a bit. "Why don't you two go someplace more comfortable? It's a lot of explaining you gotta do…"

Vala nodded shortly, standing. "How's my quarters sound?" she asked the teenager. Q look flustered for a second before nodding.

"Sure. Whatever."

As the two of them left the room, Daniel stopped Vala right outside of the door. He cocked an eyebrow at her.

"So I'm not the _only_ one who thinks you and her have some prominent similarities," he pointed out. Vala simply winced and walked past him.

XxXxX

"So…my turn," Vala said, after making sure Q wasn't about to lose it. The teenager seemed too shocked and confused for that to happen yet, though.

"If you're from ninety-one years into our future," the ex-pirate continued after getting a confirming glance from Q, "why did it look like 2010?"

Q frowned for a moment, the words not quite making sense to her at first. "Oh. We have this thing… Different parts of the world are in different time periods. Mine just happens to be around 2010. There's everything ranging from Ancient Egypt to Middle Ages to 1960s to 2080s."

Vala smiled slightly. "Ancient Egypt? I bet Daniel would have fun with that…"

"We have all the basic necessities, like modern cars and computers…"

"Not necessities," Vala corrected. "Technology isn't necessary."

Q smiled wryly. "Well, in my time, it _seems_ necessary."

Vala grinned back. "I can understand that."

XxXxX

Vala and Q seemed to have bonded well during the hours they had spent in Vala's room and Vala easily persuaded General Landry to let the two girls share a room and drag in a couch for them to sleep on when it wasn't their turn for the bed. Sam took somewhat of a motherly liking for the teen, while Daniel, after forgiving her for the gunshot wounds, took somewhat of a fatherly liking. Cameron had started to let go of some annoyance towards Q, though she kept snapping at him for calling her "kid". She tended to keep a distance from Teal'c, however, telling Vala the Jaffa was a little too big and intimidating.

Most of the time, Vala and Q hung out in their room, the mess, or Daniel's office, bugging the poor archeologist almost more than he could take. At this particular moment, they happened to be giggling over a select few members of the opposite sex on the bed in their room.

"Do I want to know?" Cameron asked at the doorways as Vala fell to the floor with a thud, eyes streaming with tears from laughter.

"No," Q giggled. "No, you really don't."

Cam waited amusedly for the girls to compose themselves. Finally, after several false starts, Vala met his gaze, a smile still twitching at her lips.

"Yes?" she said sweetly. Q snorted, clapping a hand over her mouth. Cam eyed both of them warily for a second.

"Uh…Jackson and me are gonna go play some ball…do you know how to play basketball, kid?"

Unable to really get upset at him for the moment, Q simply stuck her tongue out at the colonel.

"Yes, I know how to play."

"We're coming Cam," Vala managed to say through stifled giggles. "Give us fifteen minutes."

"All right!"

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	17. 16: Glass Shards

"How 'bout a battle of the sexes?" Cameron challenged as Vala and Q entered the room.

"You're on!" Vala exclaimed after she and Q shared a smile.

"How good are you?" Daniel asked Q. She shrugged.

"I'm fine."

The game started and in the first ten seconds, Q had already managed to dunk the ball. Daniel and Cameron stared at her, mouths ajar.

"Fine?" Daniel echoed. Q shrugged. Vala grinned, giving Q a high five.

"We are going to whoop some "a" double dollar signs," she declared triumphantly. "Well…you are."

"I hate the future…" Cameron muttered.

The game continued in the same manner, the males scoring one or two baskets, Vala three or four, Q…well, they didn't keep track of those. At one point, Q started to back down, realizing she was going to give Daniel or Cameron a heart attack if they kept trying to chase her around the court, making it possible for them to catch up. Finally, Daniel got a strong hold of the ball, Vala trying desperately to steal it. Eventually, Daniel froze, shoulders slumped, but ball still held firmly in his hands. Vala hopped from side to side, trying to get to the ball. After a few moments in which Cameron and Q watched, laughing tears in their eyes, Daniel suddenly whirled around, tossed the ball to Cameron, who barely caught it, grabbed Vala by the chin before she realized what was happening, and planted a firm kiss on her lips. Then he backed away, yelling at Cameron.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot, shoot!"

Staggering with laughter, Cameron wobbled to the basket and threw the ball in, promptly falling to his "'a' double dollar signs" afterwards.

"That was the best distraction…"

Vala, having just recovered from her shock, looked outraged.

"You cheat!"

"I did _not_ cheat," Daniel argued calmly.

"You did too!" Vala screeched. Daniel smiled at her.

"There are no rules against distractions or kisses."

Vala couldn't find any argument to that. Q elbowed the ex-con gently, grinning at her. Vala stuck her tongue out at the teenager.

"Unauthorized off world activation," Walter's voice suddenly announced. "SG-1 to the control room immediately."

XxXxX

"What's up?" Cameron asked, still bouncy from the game. The cheeriness vanished when he looked to the 'gate room. "Aw, come on."

"Adria!" Vala exclaimed.

"That's him!" Q hissed. "That's the guy who gave me the necklace! Your…husband." She looked to Vala's expression, fading off.

"What do you want, Adria?" Daniel asked over the com. Adria's eyes widened at the sound of Daniel's voice.

"You!" she exclaimed. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Yeah, well, I seem to have the knack of escaping that fate," Daniel shot back. "What do you want?"

Adria composed herself with effort, giving them a thoroughly false smile. "I want the secret, of course."

"As well as the girl," Tomin added. Q looked appalled.

"I'm just 'the girl' now, am I? You know, I kinda _liked_ him before now!"

"Well, good luck with that," Daniel replied. "You're not getting either."

"Oh?" Adria said, honey dripping from her voice. "Is that so?"

Without warning, Daniel was beamed from his position, leaning over the console, to standing directly in front of Adria. He stepped backwards quickly. Adria smiled evilly at him before turning her attention, briefly, to Tomin.

"Leave us," she ordered. "I will finish this."

Tomin nodded and turned, leaving through the 'gate. After watching him disappear through the 'gate, Adria whirled around, every last guard in the room falling unconscious. Daniel took another step backwards, cursing violently.

"Colonel Mitchell," Landry said. Cameron looked to the general.

"Yes sir?"

"Get Jackson outta there," Landry ordered. "_Now._"

Cameron nodded. "Yes sir."

He and Vala ran down one set of stairs, Sam and Teal'c the other, leaving Q with General Landry, watching Adria advance towards Daniel, like a lion stalking its prey. Just as the team got to the entrance, the blast doors slammed shut, blocking all entry. Cam swore loudly, running back up to the control room.

"Walter, can you open the doors?" he asked hurriedly. The sergeant shook his head.

"I'm trying, sir, it's not working!"

Sam ran to try and help, but after a moment, she shook her head.

"Adria's overridden our power. There's nothing we can do."

Amazingly, Daniel managed to avoid everything Adria threw at him for the time being. He was worn out from the basketball game still and Adria was simply standing in one spot, watching as he ran, jumped, whirled and fell, trying desperately to stay alive. All at once, a crazy idea entered his head and he stopped for a brief second, eyes assessing Adria. Then he started towards her.

After narrowly evading a P90 aimed at his head, Daniel jumped at Adria, pushing her to the floor and clawing at her neck. He rolled off her and smashed something on the floor, shards of glass digging into his hand. Adria immediately stood up, hand flying to her neck. She stared at Daniel's bleeding hand in shock and rage.

"My necklace!" she exclaimed. Daniel looked up and smiled at her.

"Now you can die," he said triumphantly. Adria's expression hardened and she held out a hand, Daniel rising high into the air.

"Yes," she agreed. "But you cannot kill me."

With one fluid movement, she threw Daniel, hard, to the floor, his face slamming against the 'gate's ramp. Then she whirled around to the window to the control room and pulled the glass away, breaking it into a million pieces, and thrusting all the shards into Daniel's back. A scream burst from his lips, his head rising in pain and Adria smiled, walking to his side and lowering to one knee. He met her gaze, eyes glazed over in pain, before his head fell again, eyes closing and falling into unconsciousness. Adria stood up again, looking to the shocked faces of the team. And then she left.

Immediately after the wormhole closed, Sam spoke.

"We've got power! We can get to him…"

Landry rushed to the com. "Carolyn, we need a med team to the 'gate room. And fast."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	18. 17: Hurt

A few hours later, Daniel woke up. Carolyn and the other doctors had successfully, though tediously, managed to remove all pieces of glass from both his hand and his back and stabilize his condition. After being assured he wasn't going to die anytime soon, the rest of the team, on General Landry's orders, had left to go after Adria and Tomin. Q had wanted to join them, but Landry had refused. So she sat at Daniel's bedside, achieving the role of a bored teenager to the dot.

"Ah…" Daniel hissed, eyes scrunching in pain. Q looked up.

"Hey," she called. Daniel poked open a single eye to meet her gaze.

"Hey," he greeted back.

"I've been thinkin'…" she started, not really noticing the linguist's grimace of pain. "Adria said you were supposed to be dead…"

Daniel smiled wryly. "Yeah. Did Vala not explain that part?"

Q shook her head.

"Well…Adria killed me. She's kinda bitter about something that happened between the two of us three years ago so…"

"She _killed_ you?" Q exclaimed. "But…you're _here_! Not…_dead_…"

Daniel laughed. "Yeah. It's not the first time that's happened, either."

Q blanched.

"Everyone on the team has died at least once, actually," Daniel continued. "For the longest time Cam was the only one who'd never died. Then…well, the City of the Undead changed that. Course, he wasn't ever _unconscious_ so I don't know if that really counts…"

"How?" Q asked incredulously. Daniel shrugged slightly, wincing as a jolt of pain ran up his back.

"Depends on the situation."

"Ah!" Carolyn cried, coming into the room. "You're awake!"

Daniel craned his neck to look to the doctor. "Yes. I am."

Carolyn scurried to shoo Q away. "Out, out! Stop talking to him, he needs his rest!"

"Carolyn…" Daniel pleaded. Carolyn glared at him.

"_Don't_ try to argue with me, Dr. Jackson. Q, go."

"But—" the teen protested.

"Go!"

"All right, all right, Carolyn!" Daniel interrupted. "I'll get some rest if _you_ do something in return."

Carolyn frowned at him, unsure of whether to trust him or not. "What?"

Daniel jerked his head at Q. "Get a blood sample from her."

"Why?" the females chorused.

"Compare her DNA to anyone and everyone," Daniel continued.

"You think she's the offspring of one of you?" Carolyn asked.

"Us," Daniel corrected. "You're included."

"I've already had all my genetic information done," Q told them.

"And where _is_ that information?" Daniel asked knowingly. Q quieted.

"At home," she replied softly.

"Exactly," Daniel said. He turned his attention back to Carolyn. "Compare it to _everyone_; dead, alive, bad guy, good guy, anyone we have genetic information for."

Carolyn sighed and nodded at Q. "Come on."

"Thanks Carolyn!" Daniel called as the two walked away. Carolyn turned, giving him a tight-lipped smile.

"You're welcome."

XxXxX

"And did she find anything?" Cameron was asking Daniel. The team had returned from an unsuccessful mission and the archeologist had been freed from bondage. Now they, as well as Q and General Landry, were in the briefing room and Daniel was explaining what he had had Carolyn do for him.

"Yes," Daniel replied. "She found three matches, two a mother and daughter."

"Vala and Adria?" Sam asked, surprised. Daniel nodded, with a quick glance to Vala, and then Q.

"Adria's was closer though, so Adria either already _has_ a kid or is going to have one," Daniel continued, starting to look a little uncomfortable. "My bet, however, would be on the former option."

"I'm a grandma?" Vala exclaimed.

"What makes you think that, Dr. Jackson?" Landry asked. Daniel winced, shifting and obviously _very_ uncomfortable.

"Because of who the third match is," he muttered.

"And who's that?" Cam prodded. Daniel paused before answering in an almost untranslatable mumble:

"Me."

It took a moment for that single syllable to sink in. Vala was the first to react, and she did so silently, leaning back in her chair, a hand covering her mouth. General Landry's jaw line grew grim.

"I think _now_ would be a good time to explain to us _exactly_ what happened three years ago, Dr. Jackson," he suggested. Daniel sighed, defeated and nodded, eyes closed so he wouldn't have to meet any gazes.

"All right," he agreed. He sat up, readying himself for the explanation, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

"When I was back to normal after being a Prior three years ago," he started, " a lot of you, Vala in particular, wanted to know _how_ I slash Merlin got Adria to trust us. Well…we figured out that Adria has…or had, I don't know which, more than a, uh, _professional_ liking for me, if you get my meaning." He paused, wincing when he accidentally met Sam's eyes.

"Merlin kinda played along with that, making it seem I was returning the affection. Neither I nor Merlin expected it to go as far as it did…but we couldn't back out by the time we realized…"

"So…you had sex with Adria," Cameron concluded. Daniel winced again.

"Um…yeah."

"And she had your kid," the colonel continued.

"Apparently," Daniel replied.

"Who's, like, Q's grandpa."

"Yeah."

"Wonderful," Cam finished sarcastically.

"Well," Landry said in quite the final tone. "There's not much we can do about that now, seeing as we have no idea where Adria is. So what I want is for you to focus on this secret, working with Q. Any questions?"

After receiving no answers, Landry nodded curtly and stood up, Sam and Cameron rising with him.

"Dismissed."

He walked briskly into his office. Vala stood with start, running down the stairs. Teal'c frowned and followed. Cameron gave Daniel an awkward glance and slowly left as well. Sam, close behind the other colonel, walked by Daniel and rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She patted his shoulder and walked away, leaving only Q and Daniel in the room.

"Talk to her!" Q exclaimed after a moment. Daniel's head jerked up. He hadn't realized she was still there.

"I can't," he said quietly.

"And why not?" she demanded.

"Did your parents ever teach you respect?" Daniel asked testily. "Especially to your ancestors?"

"She loves you," Q said quietly. "She'll listen to you. She _wants_ to listen to you. She _wants_ a more personal explanation."

"And how do you know that?" Daniel demanded.

"I'm a very good judge of character," Q explained.

"Oh, you are, are you?"

Q growled. "Fine. If you don't _want_ to fix this, don't. Not my problem." With that, she stood up and stormed down the stairs.

Daniel waited until he could no longer hear the teen's stomping before dropping his head on the table, flinging his arms over it, and fighting back the enraged tears.

XxXxX

"Vala Mal Doran," Teal'c said once he finally caught up to the ex-con. Vala whirled around angrily.

"What?" she demanded. Teal'c frowned disapprovingly.

"Daniel Jackson did not tell you earlier because he did not want to hurt you."

"Obviously he didn't consider that _keeping_ it from me would hurt more!" Vala yelled, turning to run away. Teal'c, however, caught her by the arm and forced her to look at him.

"You do not know that," he said quietly. Vala stared at him furiously, though she didn't argue further.

"He did not want to hurt you," the Jaffa repeated, "and now that he has_, he_ is hurting as well."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	19. 18: Ettan

"Unauthorized off world activation. SG-1 to the control room immediately."

Daniel raised his head, swearing softly, and stumbled down the stairs to the control room.

"What is it, Walter?" he asked as the rest of the team gathered in the room. His eyes traveled to the open wormhole and his cursing grew. "For cryin' out loud…"

"Can't she just leave us alone for once?" Cameron asked. The woman on the ramp immediately found Daniel and scowled.

"I told you, Adria," the archeologist said, "you're going to have a hard time getting me to stay dead."

There was a pause in which Adria glared at him, venom seeping from her eyes.

"Oh," Daniel added, "and while you're here, I'd like to meet my child."

The venom vanished and her eyes flew open in shock. After a glance at Q, however, the surprise died away.

"Ah," she said simply. Suddenly, Daniel found himself beamed before the Orici again and he sighed.

"Could you at least _warn_ me?"

"I will take you to meet our son," Adria said, ignoring his annoyance. Daniel frowned.

"I dunno… Not quite sure if I trust you. I mean, you _have_—"

"I will not hurt you," the Orici interrupted.

"Jackson, don't go," Cameron ordered from the control room. Adria gave the colonel a glare before turning her attention back to Daniel.

"I swear in the name of the Ori," Adria amended, "I will return you without a single hair on your head harmed."

"I don't think she'll go back on her word, Cam," Sam said quietly. Cameron scowled, very unhappy.

Daniel gave the colonel a look that said the exact same thing Sam had just said and shrugged. Turning back to Adria, he sighed.

"Fine. I'll come."

After the two of them disappeared over the event horizon, General Landry turned immediately to Cameron.

"Colonel. Follow them."

"Can I-?" Q started to ask. Landry nodded.

"Yes. Go."

XxXxX

"Tomin," Adria called. The Ori warrior scuttled into the room that the Orici and Daniel were waiting in, bowing slightly. He gave the linguist a surprised look, like he had expected someone else, but kept his expression blank when he looked to Adria.

"Yes, Orici?"

"Bring Ettan."

Tomin's eyes flew wide and he struggled to compose his emotions. He nodded quickly before he could get in trouble and scurried to do as ordered. After a moment of silence, Daniel eyed Adria with a raised eyebrow.

"Ettan?"

Adria made no reply. A few minutes passed before a little boy with Daniel's hair and eyes walked into the room.

"Yes Mother?" the boy asked. Daniel's jaw dropped and gave Adria a skeptical look.

"Isn't he two years old?" he asked. Adria inclined her head affirmatively.

"Then…why…" Daniel eyed his son again. The kid stood straight and tall, like a soldier at attention. His face was expressionless, watching his mother expectantly, completely ignoring the man assessing him with an almost outraged expression. "He's more of an adult!" Daniel finally exclaimed. Adria nodded.

"I have brought him up in the way of the Ori."

"And taught him to completely bypass his childhood?" Daniel demanded angrily. Adria frowned at him.

"_I_ never had a childhood."

"_You_ actually grew up fast. Ettan still _looks_ and _is_ two years old!" Daniel bellowed. "He needs to have fun and let loose! It's unhealthy for him _not_ to!"

Adria ignored him. "Ettan, meet your father."

Ettan nodded at Daniel. "Pleased to meet you."

"Oh my…" the archeologist muttered. With one fluid movement, he relaxed and bent down on one knee to lower himself closer to Ettan's height. "Hey, kiddo. Could you have a little fun for me?"

Ettan frowned at him. "Fun?"

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "Fun. Like…uh, what do kids do…run around. Laugh. Destroy things. Laugh, please?"

"Why?" Ettan asked. Daniel closed his eyes, trying to let go of the frustration building up inside of him.

"Just to laugh," he said. After a moment: "Laugh because I sound so stupid. So crazy. I mean, can you believe me? Don't I sound insane?"

A smile twitched at the little boy's lips and his shoulders shook slightly. Daniel grinned triumphantly.

"Come on, now. Laugh!"

But the sound never emitted from Ettan's mouth. So Daniel sighed and reached out to tickle his son. Ettan's laugh was so young, so pure, so innocent, Daniel couldn't help but laugh slightly as well. After a few moments of Ettan begging his dad to stop, he couldn't breathe, Daniel drew away, grinning at his son. Ettan grinned back.

"Now what?" he asked eagerly. Daniel thought for a moment.

"Run around the room a few times," he told him. Ettan frowned again.

"For exercise?" he asked. Daniel shook his head.

"Just to run around. You're a kid: I know you've got lots of energy inside of you, just waiting to be let out." He gave Ettan a slight push. "Go on, run."

Ettan bolted forward. Daniel laughed lowly as he watched his son sprint around the room and gave Adria a triumphant quirk of his lips.

"So, Adria. I know you can stop him. Why aren't you?"

Adria looked away angrily. "I have no power over my own blood."

Daniel frowned. "Wait…so you don't have any power over Vala?"

Adria didn't reply. Daniel 'huh'-ed happily and turned back around to halt Ettan.

"Now, Ettan. Destroy something. How 'bout…" Daniel smiled, "a Book of Origin? Go find one and bring it back here. Then just rip it up and have a good ol' time."

Ettan scurried away to do as bid and was back faster than Daniel thought possible. Of course, he realized, this _was_ an Ori ship. There was bound to be a Book of Origin in almost every room. Ettan set the book down and started to rip pages out, giggling. Daniel laughed lowly again, giving Adria a smile. She simply stared at him.

"Why didn't you tell me about him?" Daniel asked after a moment.

"I was angry," Adria replied simply. "You had led me to believe you loved me and then suddenly tried to kill me. I wasn't about to tell you that you had given me a son."

"Daddy?" Ettan asked suddenly, tugging on Daniel's pants leg. Daniel looked down, frowning.

"Yes, Ettan?"

The little boy thrust a page forward for Daniel to see. "Look what I found!"

Daniel took the page from Ettan's hand, frowning at the picture.

"It's you, Daddy!"

The picture was of Daniel.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	20. 19: Origin

In the picture, Daniel was kneeling down, head bowed over something that had been ripped off. The archeologist as wearing a tunic like he had worn before becoming a Prior but the surroundings and the situation was completely foreign to him. It was an exact drawing, shaded with black lines of varying thickness. After awhile, Daniel looked up to Adria.

"I do not know _how_—"

Daniel turned back to Ettan before Adria could finish. "Ettan, I'd like you to stop ripping up that book, okay?"

Ettan nodded. "Okay."

"Could you help me gather up the pages?" Daniel asked. "I'd like to read the book again."

Ettan nodded enthusiastically and father and son started to gather the pages and slid them into the binding that was still intact. After every piece of paper was picked up and put away, Daniel stood up, gazing at his son.

"Ettan…" he said slowly. Ettan looked up at him expectantly. Daniel sighed. "How would you like to come home with me? You could meet all my friends, live with me, have fun…"

Ettan's blue eyes shone. "I'd love to!" he exclaimed. Daniel winced slightly at Ettan's formal tone, but ignored it for the time being and picked the two year old up, resting him on his hip. Then he turned to leave the way he had come. However, he stopped abruptly, turning his head to frown at Adria.

"All right," he said, "I understand why you can't and won't stop Ettan…but what about me, Adria? Why aren't you stopping me?"

Adria met his gaze calmly, silently. Daniel narrowed his eyes slightly, a small smile growing on his lips. And then he left.

XxXxX

"Having _any_ luck, Sam?" Cam asked impatiently. Sam shook her head.

"We've been through this before, Cameron," she said. "A DHD buffer typically holds that last fifty addresses that were dialed. We've got a lot of planets to check."

"Not that the scenery here isn't nice or anything, but—" Cam continued.

"Cameron, just shut up, okay?" Sam suddenly yelled. Cameron frowned, but stayed quiet.

"I'm off world, I'm off word…" Q was whispering quietly, bouncing around and taking in the surrounding mountains.

"You think Adria'll find a way around her promise?" Vala asked to no one in particular.

"Uh…" Sam said, backing away from the DHD. All five looked up to see the 'gate activating. Cam swore under his breath.

"Hide," he ordered. "Fast."

Quickly, they ducked behind boulders, waiting and watching as the kawhoosh billowed out. A few seconds passed before a singular man with a young boy on his hip walked through the wormhole.

"Daniel!" Vala cried, stepping out from behind her boulder. Daniel smiled at her, wondering if she had forgiven him.

"Hey," he greeted.

"'S that…your son?" Sam asked, walking towards him. The relieved sparkle in Vala's eyes diminished and she frowned, scuffing the dirt with her toe. Daniel's heart sunk and he unwillingly turned to Sam.

"Yeah. Guys, this is Ettan," he introduced. "Ettan, this is Colonel Samantha Carter. That's Teal'c, that's Colonel Mitchell, that's Q Larienge, she's going to be your granddaughter, and that's…Vala Mal Doran." He paused. "Your grandma."

"This is weird," Q commented.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"Hello," Ettan said formally. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Holy crap!" Cameron exclaimed. "How old is he?"

Daniel winced. "Two. Uh…Adria brought him up…um…"

"In the ways of the Ori," Vala finished for him. Daniel stared at her, surprised she had spoken.

"Uh…yeah."

Cam's eyebrows shot up. "Great."

XxXxX

"And he showed me this," Daniel was saying, pushing the page towards General Landry. The rest of the team, sans Vala who stared stiffly at the table in front of her, craned their necks to look as well. From the floor, they could hear Q and Ettan giggling softly.

Landry frowned and passed it to Cameron.

"It's you!" the colonel exclaimed, handing it to Sam, who frowned at it and gave it to Vala. The ex-con glanced at it briefly before sliding it to Teal'c.

"I know," Daniel said. "I recognize the tunic: it's the uniform of an Ori crew member. Wore it a lot before I turned into a Prior. But I don't recognize the situation."

"It'd be nice if we knew what you were looking at," Sam added. Daniel nodded his agreement.

"I believe you are crying," Teal'c said suddenly, squinting at the picture. Daniel turned to frown at the Jaffa.

"What?"

Teal'c held the page out for Daniel to see and pointed at the linguist's down-turned face.

"I believe those are tears on your cheeks, Dr. Jackson."

Daniel took the picture from his friend and looked closely. "I think…you're right," he said finally.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Well, the shading make my cheeks seem—"

"I think she means, why are you crying," Landry interrupted.

"Oh." Daniel bit his lower lip thoughtfully. "No clue."

"Did you ask Adria about it?" Cameron asked. Daniel nodded.

"Sorta. She said she had no idea how my picture got in there. It wasn't there before. Well, at least not in any of the copies I've read. And I've read this book several times, cover to cover."

"Maybe it's just this copy," Sam suggested. Daniel shrugged.

"Either way, once I've put it all back together, I'm rereading the Book of Origin."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	21. 20: Shut Down

"Hey, Q?" Sam called, running to catch up with the teenager.

"Yeah?"

"I've been thinking…you said the Stargate program shut down in the 2050s?"

Q nodded. Sam's mouth twisted.

"Why?"

"Why did it shut down?" Q clarified. She shrugged. "Dunno. It went public just a few months earlier, though, so that might have somethin' to do with it."

Sam winced. "I know _I'd_ push for that," she commented dryly. Q looked surprised.

"Why?"

Sam bobbed her head from side to side uncomfortably. "Three years ago I accidentally jumped into a parallel universe where the Stargate program had gone public a few years before and the government kept it going… It was basically a huge mess. Teal'c had left cuz they had forced him to, Vala was in jail, Daniel…wasn't around, _I_ had just died, and Cam had never recovered from his accident in Antarctica."

"The one where he completely shot his leg?" Q asked. Sam nodded.

"Landry was president, George Hammond was still General of SGC, and…I have no clue where Jack was," Sam finished quietly. Recognizing why the colonel suddenly had a lost look on her face, Q skillfully steered them away from that topic.

"So why do you want to know why the SGC shut down?" she asked. Sam drew away from her memories and shrugged.

"I dunno. Just have a feeling that it might be…important."

XxXxX

"No, no, I completely agree," Daniel said. "I was wondering if _maybe_ this wasn't supposed to happen, with the Prior wiping out Earth and all."

"But what does the Stargate shutting down have to do with that?" Cameron asked.

"If SGC was still operating, I don't think a Prior would've made it to the public," Sam pointed out. "He'd never have the chance to preach to anyone but people he already knew wouldn't listen to him. He'd be wasting his time."

"So what are you suggesting?" Landry asked. Sam glanced at Q, letting her know it was her turn. Q looked slightly uneasy as she leaned forward to talk.

"If…if we can get back to 2101, we'd be able to do some research…and with everyone…_dead_ it'd be easier to get into stuff."

Landry looked between Daniel and Sam. "Can you do that?"

Sam shrugged. "We can try."

Landry nodded. "Do it. Q, you're going along."

After the rest of the team dispersed, Daniel followed the general into his office. Landry raised an eyebrow at him.

"Yes?"

"Uh, I was wondering…what am I supposed to do with Ettan?"

"Well, you're either going to have to find him a babysitter," (Daniel grimaced) "which would be awkward, or you take him along with you."

Daniel raised his eyebrows. "You're fine with that?"

Landry sighed. "I'm not exactly happy with you bringing him home in the first place, Daniel."

Daniel opened his mouth to explain but Landry shook his head to cut him off.

"I understand _why_ you did it and I fully support you in that. It just…makes things a little more difficult."

"Sorry," Daniel apologized. "And thank you."

Landry sighed and shook his head. "There's no need to thank me. Oh," he said after a pause, "and Jackson?"

Daniel waited expectantly.

"You and Vala might want to…overcome your differences before you leave tomorrow."

Daniel raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Henwies believes the two of you are married, right?" Landry pointed out. Daniel winced. "He'll most likely come to the conclusion Ettan is _her_ son as well."

Daniel sighed heavily. "I'll talk to her," he promised.

XxXxX

"Vala!" Daniel called, rapping his knuckles on her door. "Vala, please. I know you're in there." Still no answer. "Vala, we need to talk." He waited. After a moment, he sighed, just about to turn away, when he heard the door open a fraction and the ex-space pirate peeked out at him.

"What?" she demanded. Daniel sighed.

"Look…I'm sorry. The reason…I didn't tell you earlier…well, there are a few. One…Vala, I was afraid of your reaction! I was afraid it would damage our friendship…turns out I was right to fear that," he muttered. "Besides, can you blame me? I was still shaky about…_it_; in fact, I _still_ have nightmares about it! And after you told me you didn't believe me 100 percent…I didn't want to lose any _more_ trust by telling you I had had an intimate relationship with your daughter!" Daniel stared at her, waiting for some type of reaction. He got none. "Vala, I know I sound like a son of a bitch, just spurting out meaningless excuses. But I don't know what else to do! I know you're hurt, I know you want nothing more than to let your anger and hate at me in _many_ ways. And I don't blame you. But I really don't know what you want from me!"

After a moment of pressing silence, Vala spoke.

"Daniel…I—"

"Daddy?"

Daniel felt a familiar tug on his pants leg and knelt down to Ettan's level.

"Yes, Ettan?"

Vala sighed, leaning heavily on the doorframe, impatiently waiting to regain the linguist's attention.

"Colonel Carter—"

"Her name's Sam," Daniel corrected. Ettan frowned slightly.

"_Sam_ told me you're leaving off world tomorrow."

Daniel nodded. "We are."

Ettan pouted. "Do I have to stay?"

Daniel laughed slightly. "No. You're coming along."

"So we still can watch _Finding Nemo_tonight?" Ettan asked hopefully.

"Yes. In fact," Daniel added, "we can have popcorn too!"

Ettan's eyes widened and he made a small, excited gasp. Daniel chuckled lowly, standing up and turning back to where Vala… had been. To his dismay, a shut door greeted him. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply, and turned back to his son.

"Let's go home, Ettan," he said quietly.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	22. 21: Drowning

"You've been unusually quiet, Sally," Henwies commented, concerned. The team glanced to "Sally" (Vala), who was silently picking at her food.

"Sally?" Henwies asked after she didn't answer. Cam kicked her shin softly, jerking his head at the innkeeper.

"Huh? Oh, uh…yeah," Vala stammered. "I'm not…really feeling well," she lied, standing up. "I think I'll check in. Where's my room?"

Henwies blushed. "Same rooms as last time."

"You saved our rooms for us?" Sam asked, surprised. Henwies nodded.

"Every other room is checked out, though, so Q'll have to share with someone again."

Vala didn't stay to hear anymore and walked quickly upstairs to her room.

XxXxX

Henwies had tried hard to make everyone relax and have fun but he was only successful with Ettan. Daniel couldn't stop thinking about Vala, Q was edgy about going back to her time, and both of their somberness affected everyone else. Eventually they gave up pretending and decided to go to bed. Daniel picked up Ettan gently, for the little child had recently fallen asleep on the archeologist's chest, and walked silently upstairs. He felt a sharp jab in the heart when he saw Vala asleep on a couch, a thin sheet tucked underneath her chin. It was now winter in Iarad…

With a heavy sigh, Daniel lay Ettan down in the bed, climbing in after changing into a pair of sweats. Trying to ignore his fractured heart, Daniel kissed his son's forehead gently.

"Good night, Ettan."

XxXxX

_"Daniel…"_

_Daniel whirled towards Adria's voice, seeing no one._

_"Daniel…"_

_He spun around again, his heart thudding wildly in his chest._

_"Daniel…Daniel…Daniel…Daniel!"_

_"What?" he finally bellowed._

_"Oh, Daniel…"_

_"No!"_

_"Daniel…"_

_He stared in horror as Adria sauntered into the room, eyes warm and smile soft. His eyes caught sight of his hands and widened in revulsion when he saw they were milky white. He was a Prior again. Or maybe…maybe the last three years had been a dream._

_"Daniel…"_

_"No! No, they haven't!" He knew, he remembered. The floor disappeared beneath his feet and he felt a bed against his side, a young body in his arms. Somehow he knew Vala was in the room, sleeping on the couch. Somehow he_knew_this was a dream…and so he tried to recoil from Adria's lips pressing against his._

We _need_ this to happen. She needs to trust us.

No! You shouldn't be here! Merlin, let me _go_!

It's part of the plan!

_"Oh, Daniel…"_

_NO!_

XxXxX

_The water was up to his ankles by now. He could hear a voice, calling and begging for help. He listened closer, wading towards the desperate voice, the water swirling higher too fast for comfort. He slowly treaded down a staircase, mind completely focused on not being pushed over by the harsh water. Finally he reached a door and passed his hand by the lock to open it. The water inside waved out, and Daniel was thrown off his feet, submerged by the raging waters. He felt something heavy float over his head and glanced up, realizing it had actually been a few minutes since he had heard the cries for help._

_After a brief moment of horror and disbelief, Daniel's adrenaline kicked in and he pumped his limbs wildly, trying to push his head above the water._

_"Daniel, there's only one Jumper left. We gotta go."_

_Daniel's mind blanked at the sound of that voice in his ear._

Jack…?

XxXxX

"Daddy?"

Daniel's eyes flew open to stare back at the large blue eyes right in front of his nose. At first, a sudden shot of adrenaline burst through his system as his still groggy mind produced the image of his own face, but he immediately afterwards recognized his son, staring back at the linguist in concern.

"You were talking in your sleep," Ettan told him softly. Daniel frowned.

"I was?" he asked. "What did I say?"

"'Jack,'" Ettan replied. Daniel winced. He still could feel the water pushing down on him, against his efforts to break the surface. "Daddy?"

Daniel shook his head. "It's nothing, Ettan. Let's go get some breakfast, okay?"

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	23. 22: 2056

None of the local libraries in Q's time had much information on the SGC's termination, so the team, Ettan, and Q ended up taking one of Q's family cars to Washington, D.C. There, in the Library of Congress, Q introduced them to the virtual-reality documentaries and found an entire collection of microchips on the end of the SGC. After browsing through the synopses, the team found one that would take them through the process, detail by detail, and, after getting the room and machine set up, got comfortable.

XxXxX

"I started to get suspicious about three years ago. My husband, Harrison Miles, worked in the Air Force with some top-secret corporation that he couldn't even tell _me_ about. Sometimes he'd be gone for months at a time and I'd get a call from his boss telling me that he'd been called away unexpectedly and, no, he didn't know when Harrison'd be back. Then one time he never _did_ come back. I got a knock on the door one day from some colonel who claimed to be Harrison's best bud, said he was sorry and told me Harrison had died. Wouldn't tell me how. Never saw his body. Every question I asked was met with the whole 'top-secret' excuse.

"So I started to dig. You wouldn't _believe_ the conspiracies out there! For example, there was this one guy from the 1990s, 2000s who really caught my eye: Dr. Daniel Jackson. He had a theory that the pyramids a: were thousands of years older than we thought and b: were _landing_ platforms for _aliens_. Everyone laughed at him, of course. But then he all but disappeared for a year or two. When he reappeared, he was married to some nameless person. A few years later, he was reported dead for a year…but he came back with no explanation. Throughout all this and a few years beyond, he worked at a _top-secret Air Force corporation._ In the past, a _top-secret Air Force corporation_has almost been exposed several times, strangely being quickly covered up. Odd happenings that have absolutely nothing to do with air transportation have been operated by the Air Force.

"This, along with a few other tidbits I've found in my research have led me to my conclusion that the government is, indeed, hiding something from the public, something that should _not_ be held from us. I believe the Air Force Corporation that my husband worked for and which ultimately caused his death, travels beyond this world in the most literal sense.

"Think about it. There have been many alien 'hoaxes' and I don't necessarily mean crop circles and UFOs. I mean the ET-like creature in the early 2000s. It's the year 2056 and we _still_ haven't made the slightest bit of alien contact? Maybe this corporation goes out and fights 'bad' aliens. Remember the incident in Antarctica about sixty years ago? Why was that so hush-hush?

"I know many people'll think I'm just as crazy as Dr. Daniel Jackson. But maybe…maybe if you really put some thought to it…maybe you'll believe as well."

"Wow. Well, folks, that was Jennifer Dari and her wild theory—"

_Click_

"That was pretty convincing," Dr. Cate Jakes commented. She was a woman of her mid-thirties, long blonde hair pulled up in a messy bun, dark, blue eyes showing deep scientific wisdom, despite her obviously child-like nature.

"Yes," General Joe Hartford agreed. "Yes it was." The general was in his early-forties, tall and had cropped, dirty blonde hair. He was stern like he had to be, but also extremely kind and wise, with somewhat of a soft spot for the blonde scientist.

"What are we going to do about it?" Ursia asked, her eyebrows furrowed. She was the only alien in the room, her gold tattoo on her dark forehead proclaiming her Jaffa. She had short, spiked hair that went well with her spunky personality.

"I remember her…" Colonel John Neilson muttered. His dark eyes showed his leadership skills, his firm jaw always set in a disapproving frown. His hair was a lighter brown, cropped in the traditional military style.

"Is that _really_all you said to her?" Dr. Kris Jackson asked. The archeologist/linguist had longer brown hair and a critical curve in his eyebrows that only disappeared when he was alone with Ursia. His eyes were a beautiful baby blue behind his glasses that were constantly slipping down his nose.

"What? That I was sorry and Harrison was dead?" John clarified. He shrugged. "What else was I supposed to say?"

"You could've been a little more sensitive!" Kris argued.

"If I wasn't 'sensitive' Sandra would've never married me," John pointed out.

"She doesn't have a heart either," Kris muttered under his breath. Before John could reply, General Hartford interrupted.

"I've talked to the President and we've decided on our course of action," he said. "As you said, Cate, that _was_ very convincing and she pointed out a few things that are actually going to make people start to think. We aren't going to be able to come up with satisfying excuses this time. First of all, we're bringing Miss Dari here, showing her she's right. Then…well. Both the President and I believe it's about time the SGC went public."

It was silent in the briefing room for a few moments as SG-1 let this concept sink in. Finally, Kris spoke.

"I'm not sure Grandpa _or_ Grandma are going to like that idea."

"Dr. Jackson and Colonel Carter are old and retired," John pointed out harshly. "This isn't for _them_ to decide."

"They can voice their opinions," Hartford said quickly. "But the likeliness of it having any impact is slim to none."

XxXxX

At this point in the documentary, Sam and Daniel were giving each other very odd looks.

"Um…" Q said quietly, jumping up and over to the machine. "Explanation on Kris Jackson's grandparents, please."

The virtual reality froze and a female voice filled the room.

_Dr. Kristian Jackson's grandparents were Dr. Daniel Jackson and an unknown woman as well as Colonel Samantha Carter and Peter Shanahan._

"Pete?" Sam exclaimed.

"Kris wasn't an ancestor of yours, was he?" Daniel asked Q. She shook her head.

"No. Not an uncle or anything either."

"So the 'unknown woman' wasn't Adria…" the archeologist muttered.

"Okay, now that we've got _that_ sorted out," Cam said, "can we go on?"

Q nodded and turned the video back on, sitting down to watch.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	24. 23: Publicity

"I know you," Jennifer Dari said, blue green eyes fixed on Colonel Neilson. "You're the guy who told me about Harrison's death."

John took in her black, layered hair, intense eyes and angry expression with a somewhat bored expression. "Uh…yeah, that'd be me," he agreed. Jen frowned at him, and then passed her judgmental gaze over the rest of the people in the room.

"I assume this is about my theory," she said after taking in the word "General" on Hartford's uniform. Hartford nodded.

"Yes. Harrison was on our main team of interplanetary explorers, known as SG-1. This corporation is known as the Stargate Program," Hartford explained. "We travel through a large ancient ring called the Stargate."

Kris jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "That thing."

Jen looked out the window the archeologist was indication, eyes widening at the large 'gate.

"You were correct in guessing that Dr. Daniel Jackson was in the first generation of SG-1," Hartford continued. "In fact, he Kris's grandfather."

Kris waved his finger at Jen, looking bored.

"How did Harrison die?" Jen asked bitterly. Hartford winced.

"You guessed there were 'bad' aliens out there that we fight," he started. "Again, you're right. Colonel Miles died in an off-world battle. There was no body to be seen, Miss Dari."

Jennifer was silent, lips tight and expression stone hard.

"So what are you going to do now that I've…gone to the public?" she asked. "Just gonna cover it up again?"

"We _would_," John replied, "but you've made that kinda hard."

"First, we'd like it if you'd stop acting like we're the enemy," Cate said after shooting John a glare.

"It might help if I wasn't being attacked myself!" Jen exclaimed, staring at the colonel.

"Calm!" Urias bellowed suddenly. "Calm down. Everyone. Colonel Neilson. Miss Dari. Please." She looked back to Hartford. "General, I think you'll be able to continue."

The general nodded his thanks to the Jaffa. "As Cate said, first we'd like to establish somewhat of a relationship with you: show you around, fill you in, possibly even take you off world. We don't _want_ to be your enemy, Miss Dari. We were greatly grieved by Harrison's death as well.

"As for the fate of the Stargate Program…" He sighed. "We don't have much choice but for it to go public. Though you may find that's not exactly to your best interest."

Having no idea what the general was talking about, Jennifer simply stared at him coldly.

XxXxX

"Fellow citizens of America, I am Major General Joseph Hartford. Many of you have heard of Miss Jennifer Dari's radical theory…and many of you, I know, are at least considering the possibility she may be right. You may think I am here to _deny_ her theory…however, I'm not. I'm here to say she is right."

XxXxX

"Many of you recognize me and many more of you have heard of me in Miss Jennifer Dari's speeches. I am Dr. Daniel Jackson. I was on the first SG-1. In fact, I was one of the first to go _through_ the Stargate. Everyone else on that expedition has long since died. Other than me, there is only one of the original SG-1 still alive, Samantha Carter.

"I am not going to explain my purpose here. You already know. I'm going to get straight to the point.

"Why did we cut off our alliances with the Jaffa and Tok'ra? Why did we call back the Atlantis expedition? Why have we 'postponed' the war against the Ori? And finally…

"Why are we keeping the Stargate Program going?"

XxXxX

"About fifty years ago I accidentally jumped into a parallel universe where the situation was almost exactly like this. The Stargate Program had gone public three years earlier and the state of things is most effectively described in one word: chaos. We had cut off alien alliances, as we have now, and riots and rebelling were a common happenstance; something we are steadily moving towards. Democracy had disappeared, though the government insisted it still existed. Politicians overran the entire Earth, with the excuse that the people were too unstable to choose a suitable leader.

"However much I hate to say this, I believe with my entire heart we have no choice.

"We _must_ shut down the Stargate Program."

XxXxX

"Okay, I think we get it now…" Cameron said, standing up.

"They never _did_ explain to her how Harrison died," Daniel mused.

"Could we find out?" Sam asked. Q nodded, turning to the machine.

"How did Harrison Miles die?"

_Lieutenant Colonel Harrison Miles died in the year 2053, in an off world battle against the Ori. It was a sudden, surprise attack when a young, woman Ori leader—_

"Adria," Vala whispered.

_-used alien beaming technology to appear on the spaceship Colonel Miles was on and immediately killed him, as he was the only one currently in the room. No body remained._

"I hate that woman," Cam muttered after a moment of silence. Vala glanced at him, lips curved downward into a frown.

"Well…I think that's all we need," Sam said. "Homeward?"

Everyone silently agreed.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	25. 24: Talk & Tracking

"Daniel."

Daniel turned, surprised. He was just about to go into his quarters at Henwies's place to check on Ettan, who had fallen asleep earlier, and found Vala had followed him.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"We never really…" She stopped, revising. "I never got the chance to reply."

Daniel nodded. "Yeah," he agreed.

Vala took in a breath in preparation. "I don't know if you realize this but…holding it from me only hurt more. And I know I can't know that for sure and yadda yadda, but Daniel…I'm not exactly _ready_ to be a grandmother yet! Especially when the kid's father is _you_…"

"Daddy?"

Daniel looked down in surprise to Ettan: he hadn't even noticed the door opening. He knelt down to level himself with the little boy blinking sleep out of his eyes.

"Yes, Ettan?"

Vala didn't stay to hear anymore. With an exasperated sigh, she quickly went back to join the rest of the team.

XxXxX

"So are we sticking with the story that the Ori wiping out Earth wasn't or isn't supposed to happen?" Landry double-checked. Daniel nodded.

"For now, yeah. We know that the Prior wouldn't have come through the 'gate if the Stargate Program was still in operation. We also know now that the program wouldn't have shut down if it hadn't gone public. The reason it went public is because Jennifer Dari started to dig _because_ she was angry _because_ her husband, who was or is going to be on SG-1, was killed and she wasn't able to know what the hell happened. _So._ If Harrison Miles hadn't died, none of this would've happened.

"So Harrison's not supposed to die," Vala concluded. Daniel nodded.

"How're we supposed to prevent that?" Cameron asked.

"Well, we know that the main two reasons he died was because of the element of surprise Adria used and the fact he was the only one in the room. I don't see how we're supposed to get more people in the room or him _out_ of it, but we could take away the element of surprise if Adria didn't have the Asgard beaming technology."

"But that happened a month ago," Landry pointed out. Daniel shrugged.

"We're getting into the past then too." He glanced across the table to Sam, who looked like she had been smacked across the face.

"How are we to prevent Adria from gaining the Asgard beaming technology, Dr. Jackson?" Teal'c asked after a moment. Daniel sighed.

"I'm not quite sure yet."

"Yet," Cam repeated. Daniel nodded.

"Yet."

"Carter, are you all right?" Landry asked gently. Sam snapped out of it, blinking at the general. Quickly, she nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Landry nodded, satisfied. "All right then. Daniel, you keep working. Dismissed." He stood and walked away, back into his office. Teal'c, Sam and Cameron rose with him, slowly leaving after Landry disappeared from view. Q and Vala took their time, Q with a heavy sigh.

"Lunch?" she asked Vala. Vala nodded.

"Yeah, just give me a mo."

Q's gaze flickered to Daniel, whose brow was creased and not hearing a single word the females were saying, and gave Vala a quick smile. Without a further word, she left down the stairs. Vala looked to Daniel herself and, bracing her shoulders, walked closer.

"Daniel?"

Daniel whipped his head around, jolted out of his thoughts, pushed his glasses up slightly and gave Vala a half-smile.

"Vala," he replied.

"We need to talk," she said.

"We've _been_ needing to," he pointed out. She shook her head.

"That's not what I mean. Every time I _try_ to talk to you, Ettan interrupts."

Daniel frowned. "He's my _son_, Vala."

"Yes, but don't I deserve some attention as well?" Vala asked. "If you really want to resolve this, like _I_ do, can't Ettan wait _five minutes_? It's as if I don't matter. And maybe I don't to you…but I sure thought we were at least friends."

Daniel looked utterly confused. "Vala, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I—"

"Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy!" Ettan came hurtling towards Daniel and tugged on his pants leg. "I'm hungry!"

Vala froze, rigid and eyes fixed on father and son, waiting to see Daniel's reaction. The linguist turned to Ettan and fell to his knee to talk to his son.

"Yes, Ettan?"

Vala bit back a bellow of rage and whirled around to join Q for lunch and rant about the idiocy of males.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	26. 25: What If

Daniel sat at his desk, notes strewn all over the surface, elbows propped on top, hands covering his face. His eyes were closed, the creases of deep concentration in his forehead.

_"Stand aside."_

_"I'm not letting you get to the technology. I'm not that stupid."_

_"I never thought of you as the suicidal type, General."_

_"There's a price for everything."_

_"A fairly large one in this case. All of Earth is in debt to you; you'll be greatly missed by even them! You'll be leaving so many friends behind. … And what about Colonel Carter? Your wife? Imagine_her_grief? And…the baby's?"_

_"But Sam—"_

_"How can you leave Colonel Carter to raise a child all on her own, General O'Neill?"_

_"No. Better for my child to have one parent than to be brought up in a world overrun by the Ori."_

_"Suit yourself."_

"Jack…" Quickly, Daniel added a few chicken scratches to his notes.

"Jackson!"

The linguist looked up to see Cameron and Teal'c standing in the doorway, a basketball in the former's arms.

"T 'n' me are gonna go play some ball…you wanna come along?"

Daniel shook his head. "Not…right now."

"How's it comin'?" Cam asked curiously.

"Really good, actually. I think I might've just figured it out." He motioned for the colonel to come closer. "C'm'ere."

Cam sighed and he and Teal'c walked in. "Yup?"

"So we know that Adria's not supposed to have gotten the Asgard beaming technology," he said, pointing to a bullet point on his notes. "Obviously, then, it's got to have _something_ to do with Jack's death. Now, a while ago, Adria showed me exactly what happened leading up to his death."

Cameron looked surprised. "You didn't tell us about that."

"Yeah, I haven't told you guys a lot," Daniel muttered. "Anywho. If Jack had been thinking clearly, he would've realized that standing in Adria's way and getting killed wasn't going to prevent anything. He would've known that if he had stepped aside and seemingly let her get the technology, he would've had at least a _better_ chance at stopping her."

Cameron nodded, mentally following the path Daniel was laying out. "Okay…so O'Neill's not supposed to have died."

Daniel nodded excitedly. "Exactly. Somehow we need to get it so he was thinking clearly."

"Why was he not thinking clearly?" Teal'c asked. Daniel pursed his lips.

"Well, one, because Thor had just died. Two, because Adria…brought up Sam. And made it seem like she was pregnant."

"I thought…" Cam started. Daniel nodded.

"Yes, yes, but the possibility of 'what-if' hit him at that critical moment and he had to be all noble."

"So how do we…?" Cameron trailed off, waving a hand in the air aimlessly.

"We take away the possibility of 'what-if'," Daniel replied matter-of-factly.

"How?"

Daniel winced and took in a deep breath. "Sam should've been pregnant. If Jack already _knew_…"

Cameron's eyes flew wide. "Uh…how 'bout _you_ talk to her about that?"

Daniel nodded. "Yeah. I know."

Cameron clapped a hand on the linguist's shoulder. "Good luck."

XxXxX

"Sam?"

Sam looked up from her computer and smiled at Daniel. "Hey," she greeted. "How's it going?"

"Um…" Daniel said awkwardly, stepping into the room. "Can I talk to you? Alone, preferably?"

Sam shrugged, standing up and walking out from behind her desk. "Sure. This about Vala?"

Daniel looked shocked. "Wha-? No!" he exclaimed defensively. "I-…Vala?" he asked incredulously. Sam laughed, raising her hands in defeat.

"Sorry, sorry. Just…well, I overheard her at lunch," she explained. "I think she's planning _homicidal_ action, Daniel."

The archeologist shut his eyes wearily. "You know…I just don't know what I did."

"Talk to her," Sam suggested.

"I've tried!" Daniel insisted. Sam shrugged.

"Try again," she advised. "You came here for a reason other than Vala. What was it?"

Daniel sighed and shut the door behind him, grabbing a chair and sitting down.

"I think I've figured out how to stop the Ori from wiping out Earth," he told her. Sam frowned, sitting across from him.

"Okay…"

"You play a key role," he said. "First, I should let you know Jack wasn't supposed to die."

Sam's eyes flew open and a hand covered her mouth quickly. "Are you sure?" she asked, the hope in her voice barely concealed. Daniel winced.

"I can't be completely positive but I don't see any other way. You see, when Adria killed him, he wasn't thinking clearly…if he _had_ been, he would've realized standing in her way and getting killed wasn't going to stop anything, but stepping _out_ of her way and seemingly let her at the technology would've given him the chance to actually stop her."

"Wait…how do you know this?" Sam asked. Daniel winced again.

"Adria showed me," he replied. Sam forced herself to stay calm, nodding rigidly.

"Go on…"

"Now, there are two reasons Jack wasn't thinking clearly," the archeologist continued. "One, Thor had just died. Two, Adria brought _you_ up. She made it sound like you were pregnant."

"I can't _get_ pregnant, Daniel," Sam pointed out. "You know that."

"I know that, Adria knew that, and _he_ knew that," Daniel agreed. "But what if? What if you were? You can't be one hundred percent positive you can't get pregnant, Sam, and Jack knew that. Kris Jackson's supposed to be your grandson, right? There's rarely ever a case where you're one hundred percent positive you can't get pregnant and you aren't one of those cases! Ultimately, that's how Jack died. Cuz he knew the possibilities."

Sam stared at Daniel, the effort of trying _not_ to cry obvious in her expression. Daniel bit his lower lip.

"How hard did the two of you try?" he asked. "And I'm sorry I have to talk to you about _this_ of all things."

Sam shook her head dismissively. "It's okay. As to your question, we didn't really try that hard. We were both working, so we figured it was for the best."

Daniel nodded. "Do you think…if we sent you back in time, that you could try harder? And…maybe…if he _knows_ you're pregnant…"

Sam's eyes sparkled, whether from tears or happiness, Daniel couldn't tell, and she smiled slightly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll do it."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	27. 26: Take Two

"Okay, okay, I don't need the details, I think I get the point," Landry interrupted Daniel, waving a hand at him. "What's your plan?"

Daniel glanced to Sam, sitting across the table. Sam leaned forward. "I'll go back, about a month and a half before Jack died. Somehow, I _will_ get pregnant and…if it works, you'll know. I'll find one of you as soon as I've left…if that makes sense."

"So, in our time," Cam tried to interpret, "you'll leave and then you'll come back, to tell us if it worked or not."

"That would suck if it didn't," Q commented. Sam raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Yes it would. And, yes, you're right, Cam."

"Sounds good to me," Vala put in.

"It does to me as well," Landry agreed, "_but_ there's only one thing I have a problem with."

"What's that?" Daniel asked.

"The chances of Carter meeting up with herself are extremely high, correct?" the general made sure. "What happens then?"

Daniel pursed his lips. "I don't know. But it's a chance we have to take, General."

Landry sighed. "I know." He locked gazes with Sam. "And you're all right with this, Carter?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, sir. Whatever I can do to get Jack back."

The general nodded. "All right then. You have a go."

As everyone left, Daniel decided then and there to take Sam's advice. Before she could leave, the archeologist grabbed Vala's arm.

"Vala, please…we need to talk."

Vala gave him the slightest glance, face absolutely expressionless. She silently removed his grip from her arm and continued on. Daniel stared at her retreating back, mouth ajar.

"Well, _fine_."

XxXxX

"So…good luck," Daniel said, standing at the end of the Jumper's bridge. Sam grinned at him.

"Either way, I get to see Jack alive again. I'm good with that," she told him.

"Yeah, but if it doesn't work, the Prior's still gonna wipe out Earth in less than a century," Daniel pointed out. Sam shrugged.

"You can't have everything."

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Ah, to be as in love as you."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't you?"

Daniel's eyes widened. After a moment he scowled. "You better not mean Vala."

Sam's expression feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure," Daniel grumbled. Sam grinned at him again.

"So…I'll come to your office in half an hour?" she double-checked. Daniel nodded.

"For my time at least."

Sam nodded. "Ta!"

XxXxX

As soon as Sam arrived at the SGC, she sought out herself. She found her, as usual, in her office, working on the computer.

"Hey," she called, somewhat nervously. She looked up from her work, eyes widening in surprise. And then suddenly, she disappeared. Sam sighed with relief. That had been simple. She glanced at the clock, saw it was a little after 1800 hours, and decided it was time to go home.

XxXxX

"I'm home!" Sam called, closing the door behind her. Jack peeked out from the kitchen in surprise.

"Amazing!" he exclaimed. "She's home before 8 o'clock!"

Sam grinned sheepishly. "I had the urge to see you," she admitted. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"That's disgustingly romantic," he commented. Sam suppressed a giggle. If only she could tell him. If only she could let him know she had spent the last month in a cold bed. Instead, she could only rush forward and nearly knock him over in a large embrace. Jack stumbled backwards, surprised.

"Whoa," he said. "You okay?"

Sam looked up into his beautiful, perfect eyes that she hadn't seen in so long…

"Couldn't be better."

XxXxX

"Jack?"

Jack's eyes fluttered open to meet his wife's gaze. "Mm?"

Sam took in a deep breath. "Do you…do you think we could try harder to have a kid?"

Jack frowned. "Any particular reason?"

Sam shook her head. "I just…well, I want to have a kid, Jack."

"We're both working," he pointed out. Sam smiled at him.

"Aren't you planning to retire soon?"

Jack scowled at her. "I just was considering the possibility when I mentioned that, Sam."

"All the same."

Jack stared into Sam's blue eyes, searching. "We can try," he said finally. Sam grinned and kissed him gently on the lips.

"Thank you," she whispered.

XxXxX

"Jack!" Sam called, rushing into the house. Jack stood up abruptly from the computer and rushed to Sam, concerned by her tone.

"What?" he asked worriedly. "What is it?"

Sam grinned widely at him. "It worked!" she hissed excitedly. "I'm pregnant!"

Jack's eyes widened in shock and he grabbed her arms. "You're pregnant?" he echoed. Sam nodded elatedly. Jack pulled her into a solid hug. "Oh, Sam…" he said, happiness pouring from his voice. "We're going to be parents!"

XxXxX

"Stand aside," Adria ordered. Brigadier General Jack O'Neill glanced at the now lifeless body of his old-time friend, Thor, and shook his head angrily. He took a moment to bite back a few words he hadn't used in years before replying.

"I'm not letting you get to the technology," he snarled. "I'm not that stupid."

Adria sighed. "I never thought of you as the suicidal type, General."

"There's a price for everything," Jack retorted.

"A fairly large one, in this case," Adria commented. "All of Earth is in debt to you; you'll be missed greatly by even them! And you'll be leaving so many friends behind." She paused, as if trying to recall a bit of information.

"And what about Colonel Carter?" Adria suddenly asked, with a note of false sympathy. "Your wife? Imagine _her_ grief? And…the baby's?"

Jack's eyes flew wide in shock. After a moment, he snarled. "I don't know how you know about that," he said, gaining a look of surprise from the Orici, "but it doesn't matter." His eyes flickered over to Thor's body once more. "Fine. I'll step aside."

Adria smiled. "Good man."

As Adria moved towards the technology, Jack quickly ran the opposite direction. "C'mon, Jack, c'mon," he muttered to himself. "Where's that stupid… Ah! There it is!" Fast as he could, Jack grabbed the anti-Prior device sitting before him and, on his way back to Adria, grabbed a zat as well. When the Orici came back into view, Jack threw the anti-Prior device her direction and aimed. The blue electric shock enveloped the Orici, as she fell with a cry to the ground. Jack ran past her, grabbing his radio that had fallen off earlier.

"Hank," he called into the radio.

"Jack!" Landry's voice crackled. "We lost contact with you about an hour ago! What's going on?"

"I'll explain later," Jack promised. "Right now I have an unconscious Adria waiting to be beamed wherever you please as well as me…wanting to get home."

"Sounds good," Landry said. "See you in a few."

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	28. 27: Reunion & Going Home

"Daniel?"

Daniel looked up from his computer to see Sam standing in his doorway. His eyes widened with hope and he stood, quickly rushing over to his friend.

"Did it work?" he asked. "Did it work, Sam? Is Jack alive?"

Sam nodded, a laugh full of relief bubbling up from her lips. "He's alive, Daniel," she said happily. "And I'm pregnant…and…he's alive!"

Daniel grinned. "Where is he?" he asked impatiently.

"At home," Sam replied. "Oh, and Daniel, there's something else you probably should know."

Daniel frowned at her in concern. "What?"

"He's retired," Sam told him somberly. "He retired right after the squirmish with Adria. Said he'd had enough of the life-threatening action stuff."

Daniel's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're joking, right?"

Sam giggled. "No. That's seriously the excuse he gave."

"That he'd had enough of life-threatening action stuff?" Daniel repeated. "Are we talking about the same person?"

Sam nodded, her giggle and full laugh now. "Yes, Daniel. I think he saw what was more important to him in life after that."

Daniel shook his head, smiling and reached for the phone.

"Jack?" he said after a moment. "Jack, you might wanna come to the base right now. … Oh, no particular reason. It'll just be good to see you again. … Yes, I know I sound odd. … Look, Jack, just come over. I'll explain everything when you get here."

XxXxX

"Ow," Jack said as Daniel wrapped up his explanation. "I'm going to give up on trying to understand."

Daniel could only smile.

"Excuse me," Q said after a moment. "Sorry to interrupt the happy reunion and everything but…if this actually worked…shouldn't my family be alive now?"

Daniel looked up to her. "Ah! Yes…General?"

Landry nodded. "Today's been a busy day. Get home and get some rest for now. Tomorrow you leave for Iarad. Ettan'll go along, of course."

"Ettan?" Jack echoed. Daniel winced.

"Uh, yeah. He's my son."

Jack's eyes flew wide. "Your _son_?" he repeated, his eyes flicking over to Vala. Daniel scowled.

"He's Adria's."

"_Adria's_?" Jack echoed.

"Will you stop repeating everything I say?" Daniel asked irritably. Jack stayed quiet, waiting for a response. Daniel sighed. "Yes, Adria's. It's a long story and I'll explain later, okay?"

Jack frowned unhappily. "Fine."

XxXxX

"So…" Jack said in a bored tone. "How long does this usually take?"

"You know, you didn't _have_ to come along," Daniel pointed out. Jack shrugged.

"Can you blame me?"

"We've only done this twice, Jack," Sam said before Daniel could reply. "But both times it hasn't taken nearly this long for us to turn into ghosts."

"Maybe it won't work because we've messed up the future even worse," Cameron suggested.

"Great positive outlook, Colonel!" Jack encouraged sarcastically.

"Or maybe it will not work because we have fixed the secret," Teal'c offered.

"Either way it's not working," Daniel concluded. "We're wasting our time just sitting around. We'll take the Jumper."

XxXxX

"Well…it looks like Earth hasn't been wiped out," Cameron commented. He turned to Q, who was looking out the window as well, tears of joy glistening in her eyes.

"I'm home," she whispered.

"So, all you need to do is find yourself alone and make sure she sees you," Daniel said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. Q winced.

"Actually…I don't think I'll even need to do that," she admitted. Sam frowned.

"Why not?"

"We're a few days after you guys found me, right?" Q started. Jack nodded. "I…well. I wasn't exactly the jolliest person," she told them. "I hated life and everything to do with it. I was planning to run away and…well…"

"Commit suicide," Vala finished for her. Q nodded.

"Everything was in place, I just…yeah. But now…now that I've spent the past week or so with you guys, without my friends and family…I realize how much I take for granted. So…I dunno. Maybe all of this _was_ supposed to happen. For me. That is, if the universe really keeps an eye on individuals."

"Oh, I'm sure it does," Cam assured her. "We're gonna miss ya, kid."

Q grinned at him. "Yeah," she agreed. "Me too."

Sam walked forward to give the teenager a hug. "It was fun."

Vala hugged her next. "Good to have some girl time," she said. Q glanced to Daniel with a frown. Vala shook her head. "Don't."

Q sighed and walked over to the linguist to say good-bye. "The two of you…" she hissed. Daniel shook his head as well.

"We'll miss you, Q."

Q rolled her eyes and looked around to everyone else. "See you later?" she asked.

Sam shrugged. "Who can say? Maybe."

Q smiled. "Well…I guess…I guess this is good-bye." And with that she walked off the ramp to go back home.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	29. 28: A Happy Ending

The Jumper was silent as Jack piloted it up and out of Earth's atmosphere. Sam sat in the chair beside him, quietly staring out at the stars. Cameron and Teal'c stood behind them, lost in thoughts. Vala leaned against the wall a ways back, stubbornly refusing to even _look_ at Daniel, who was leaning against the wall opposite of her, immersed in trying to put the Book of Origin that he had brought back from Adria's ship back together. Ettan jumped into Sam's lap, giving her a painfully bored expression.

"Sam," Jack whispered, leaning towards her. Sam frowned at him.

"Yeah?" she hissed back, confused as to why they were whispering.

"Tell T and Mitchell to brace themselves for a hard turn."

Sam frowned at him uncomprehendingly, but did as told. Teal'c and Cameron gave her strange looks as well, but she shrugged and they grabbed onto sturdy braces. As soon as Jack saw Sam had a good hold on Ettan, he directed the Jumper into a hard left turn. Behind him, Daniel completely lost his grip on the book and stumbled towards Vala, who's back slammed against the wall. On impulse, Daniel flung his arms forward to stop him from crashing into the ex-con, hands landing beside either side of her head, body pressed against hers.

Absolutely still, Vala stared into Daniel's eyes, taken off guard. Daniel froze in her stare, not thinking to move away. Neither was aware of their surroundings. Sam glanced back to them and grinned, seeing now what had been going on in her husband's head.

Without exactly realizing what he was doing, Daniel leaned his head forward the slightest fraction to brush his lips against Vala's. At that simple touch, Vala melted and wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself from falling to the ground. A warm smile growing on his lips, Daniel continued the kiss, unwilling to let go and ecstatic to know she had forgiven him.

"Daddy?"

Daniel felt an all-too familiar tug on his pants leg and drew away to look down at Ettan. Jack whipped his head around and gave Sam an almost outraged look. Sam raised her hands in defense. Vala's shoulders slumped and she looked away, her heart sinking to her toes. Quietly, Daniel lowered himself to one knee and gently placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"I'm kinda busy right now, Ettan, okay?" With that, he stood back up to smile at Vala's shocked expression. She opened her mouth to talk, but he quickly silenced her with another passionate kiss.

Sam noticed Ettan's dejected expression and quickly scurried over to pick him up again. After Jack shut off the compartment Daniel and Vala were in from everyone else, Sam nudged Ettan's chin upward to look into his eyes.

"You want your dad to be happy, right?" she asked. Ettan nodded numbly. Sam smiled. "Well, I don't think I've ever seen him as happy as he is now."

"Actually…" Jack said slowly. "I have."

Sam, Cameron and Teal'c looked to the retired General in surprise.

"You have?" Cameron asked. "When?"

"With Sha're," Jack replied. "Sha're…was his life. His sun, his Earth, his everything. When she was taken…well, you saw him. He would've done _anything_ do get her back. And he sure did try. And then when she died…a part of him died as well. A few times it may have seemed like that hole was filled, only to be ripped away again. Now…well, Vala's healthy for him. She fills that hole, and I don't mean to say she replaces Sha're cuz she doesn't. But she makes him happy. And she annoys the hell outta him too, which is good. The guy needs someone to keep him in line."

"And her as well," Teal'c added.

"Yeah!" Jack agreed. "I've only seen one match more perfect than the two of them," he said with a glance to Sam. She grinned.

"Love you, too, Jack."

Teal'c and Cameron shared a look, one that said nothing and everything. They both knew what they were going to do when they got home.

_A/N: I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


	30. Epilogue

"Hey," Cameron said, walking into the infirmary. Carolyn looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"So did Q make it home?" she asked. Cameron smiled back and nodded.

"Yeah," he replied. "And O'Neill got Vala and Daniel back on good terms. Better than good, actually."

Carolyn laughed. "Oh, really? Think Vala'll be moving in with Daniel soon?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say soon…" Cam said slowly. "I think they're already in the process of packing."

Carolyn laughed again. Cameron grinned. "Look, Carolyn, I was wondering…" he trailed off awkwardly. Carolyn grinned back at him.

"Seven, your place, Friday?" she asked. Cam looked surprised but smiled.

"Yeah."

Carolyn winked at him. "Sounds good," she said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

XxXxX

"General Landry?"

Landry looked up from the paperwork he was reading to see Teal'c standing in his doorway.

"Teal'c," he greeted. "Come in."

Teal'c did so, inclining his head thankfully. "I came to request I be allowed to take a short vacation," he told the general. Landry raised an eyebrow.

"Where to?" he asked curiously. Teal'c smiled slightly.

"I wish to go in search for an old friend…Ishta," he explained. Landry smiled warmly.

"Of course, Teal'c. Go ahead."

Teal'c inclined his head again, turning to leave. Landry sighed once the door closed, and leaned back in his chair.

Teal'c was going off to find Ishta. Cameron had probably asked his daughter out on a date by now. Jack was back and Sam couldn't be happier, with being pregnant and all. Daniel and Vala had finally sorted out their differences and were acting like a pair of adolescent teens. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. And why shouldn't they be? Everything was going great. Of course, Ettan still believed in the Ori, Adria was still out there, probably slaughtering thousands and converting more at this very moment. And she'd probably be coming back, still bent on killing Daniel. But for now Landry wasn't going to worry about that. He smiled to himself.

"And, for now, they all lived happily ever after…"

_A/N: Thanks to Fiara Fantasy, who was my beta at the beginning._

_Thanks to my sister who patiently listened to me read chapters to her and spazz when I needed to. Of course, she spazzed as well, especially when Jack was involved._

_Special thanks to Anjirika, one of my most loyal reviewers and favorite authors. I love you!_

_And, last but not least, thank you to everyone who has or will review. Reviewers make me happy. Also, thanks to those of you who haven't reviewed but have read this story. Simply to look at the number of hits this story has gotten makes me happy._

_Don't forget to check out the second in THE INTERFERENCE TRILOGY: Origin!_

_I love reviewers and live for constructive criticism!_


End file.
